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Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Matt Kemp’s leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a dramatic 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of their NL Division Series on Saturday.
Kemp’s leadoff blast, off side-armer Pat Neshek, came after the Cardinals tied the score on Matt Carpenter’s two-run homer in the top of the inning.
The Dodgers knotted the best-of-five series at one game apiece.
Carpenter homered off J.P. Howell, who was brought in to relieve starter Zack Greinke while the former AL Cy Young Award winner was warming up to start the inning.
Greinke had given up just two hits — the same number he had for the Dodgers — but manager Don Mattingly opted to go for a lefty-lefty matchup when Oscar Taveras was announced as a pinch-hitter.
Taveras singled and Carpenter sent a first-pitch sinker into the right-center field seats.
It came one night after Carpenter played the hero in Game 1 with four RBI, including a three-run double during an eight-run seventh inning that knocked Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw out of the game and sent the Cardinals to a 10-9 win.
Kemp saved the day, reaching down to golf a slider high into the air toward the left-field stands.
Like Boston’s Carlton Fisk in the 1975 World Series, Kemp pleaded with the ball while it was in the air, calling for it to stay fair, then celebrated around first base when it complied.
Game 3 is Monday in St. Louis with Cardinals right-hander John Lackey facing Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu.