Matt Kemp shows vital signs, homers twice as Dodgers beat the Giants - MLB

Entering Sunday night’s nationally broadcast game against the Giants, Matt Kemp last homered on September 24, also against the Giants. Before that? July 21 against the Nationals, the fateful day he injured his ankle on a play at home plate. Kemp, playing in just his third game of the 2014 season, only needed his first two at-bats against Giants starter Matt Cain to notch his first two dingers of the season.

In the second inning, Kemp blasted a 1-0 fastball to left center for a solo shot, putting the Dodgers up 1-0. In the fourth, Kemp drove an 0-1 fastball to right center for a two-run bomb, increasing the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0. He finished 2-for-3 on the night and the Dodgers held on for a 6-2 victory.

One game does not a comeback make, however. Nobody doubts Kemp’s ability to be productive with the bat and in the outfield; they do, however, question his ability to stay healthy over an entire season, a feat he hasn’t accomplished since losing the NL MVP race to Ryan Braun in 2011.

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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”