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Opening day notes and Dodgers lineup

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Matt Kemp spent most of the spring batting second, but was penciled into the No. 5 spot by Manager Joe Torre for opening day.

‘Matty’s a 100-RBI guy,’ Torre said.

In addition, Torre said he wanted to bat Russell Martin second because he is 7 for 15 lifetime against Pirates starter Zach Duke.

The moves paid off immediately; Martin walked on four pitches, and three batters later Kemp singled him and Andre Ethier home, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. That advantage didn’t last long, though, as the Pirates’ Garrett Jones homered in the bottom of the first, tying the score at 2-2.

Here’s the Dodgers’ lineup:

Rafael Furcal SS

Russell Martin C

Andre Ethier RF

Manny Ramirez LF

Matt Kemp CF

James Loney 1B

Casey Blake 3B

Blake DeWitt 2B

Vicente Padilla RHP

Other notes:

  • Ramon Troncoso returned home for the birth of his daughter on Sunday. He is expected back on Tuesday.
  • The Dodgers placed Cory Wade on the disabled list and replaced him on the active roster with Russ Ortiz, whose contract they purchased.
  • The Dodgers’ opening-day roster includes four players who went into camp on minor-league contracts (Russ Ortiz, Ramon Ortiz, Jeff Weaver and Garret Anderson) and one Rule 5 pick (Carlos Monasterios).

-- Dylan Hernandez in Pittsburgh

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