Kemp Hurts Ankle, But Shows Poise

I'm totally impressed with how Matt Kemp commented to the press after Sunday's game, after returning from the DL only to hit a HR, double and single, but unfortunately tweak his ankle in a play at the plate at the end of the game. Not only did Kemp show poise in his reflection on the day, but he showed impressive maturity dealing with yet more adversity this season:

Kemp was still limping in the clubhouse. He had the ankle treated with ice, but he said no X-rays were planned.

"It's not bad. I hope it's not bad," Kemp said. "The biggest thing will be tomorrow when I wake up and see how it feels."

Kemp, who had been hindered by inflammation in his left shoulder after offseason surgery, was activated from the 15-day DL before the game. He couldn't help but smile as he spoke about his latest possible setback.

"I'm always off and on. Play some games, sit out some games," he said. "It is what it is, man."

The game marked the first time that Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford appeared together in the Dodgers starting lineup this season.

Kemp led off the second with a solo shot, then doubled home Andre Ethier in a seven-run inning against Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann.

He reached base with a walk in the ninth and was on third when Crawford hit a slow roller toward first with two outs. It would have been an infield hit had Kemp hustled home. Instead, he jogged and allowed the Nationals to make a play at the plate. He was hurt sliding into the catcher.

"I wasn't running hard," Kemp said. "I took a hit away from CC. CC has every reason to be mad at me because that was my fault, and the results of me not running hard to home plate kind of tweaked my ankle a little bit."

Kemp would have had every right to just think about himself yesterday after the game. Instead, he thought about his teammate Carl Crawford, and what he could do better to improve upon next time.

Well done, Mr. Kemp. Now get well soon!