Dodgers take early 1-0 lead in home opener

By Steve Dilbeck

April 10, 2012 12 AM PT

Vin Scully couldn’t be there and the Dodgers decided to play the home opener anyway.

And early on Tuesday, things were going well enough. Through 4½ innings, the Dodgers held a 1-0 lead while Scully remained at home batting a bad cold.

The Dodgers scored their run in the first inning, Dee Gordon doing his best to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium by once again doing his Maury Wills imitation.

Gordon led off the bottom of the first with a single to right. He immediately stole second, then advanced to third on Mark Ellis’ grounder to second base and scored when Matt Kemp bounced out to shortstop.

For Kemp, the National League Player of the Week, dating back to last season it marked his ninth consecutive game with an RBI. That’s a Los Angeles Dodgers record and ties him with Roy Campanella (1955) and Augie Galan (1944) for the overall team record.

Clayton Kershaw, starting after battling the flu and pitching only three innings in the season opener, had shut the Pirates out through five innings with six strikeouts. Kemp lost a Casey McGehee fly in the sun to lead off the second, but Kershaw then retired three consecutive Pirates.

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