Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 3: Matt Kemp belted a two-run homer and Clayton Kershaw tossed seven strong innings as Los Angeles edged visiting Arizona in the opener of their three-game series.

Kemp recorded two hits and Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-3 and scored a run after missing two games with a sore right shoulder for the Dodgers, who won for the fifth time in their last eight games. Kershaw (6-2) allowed one run and eight hits with seven strikeouts en route to winning his third consecutive start and Kenley Jansen allowed Aaron Hill's RBI single in the ninth inning before retiring Cody Ross with two runners on for his 18th save.

The Dodgers took an early lead as Adrian Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk from Chase Anderson (5-1) in the second and Kemp followed with a 405-foot blast into the left-center field seats for his first homer since May 10. Anderson, who was looking to become the first rookie since 2006 to win his first six starts, yielded two runs on four hits and four walks over five frames.

Arizona answered in the third as Chris Owings led off with a ground-rule double and later scored on Hill’s two-base hit down the left-field line. Gonzalez, who entered the game with a total of two RBIs in this month’s first 10 games, extended the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1 in the seventh with a single that scored Ramirez.

Tuffy Gosewisch had a career-high three hits, including an RBI single off Brian Wilson in the eighth that cut the deficit to 3-2. J.P. Howell replaced Wilson with one out and two on and retired David Peralta and pinch hitter Miguel Montero to end the inning, and the Dodgers added an insurance run on pinch hitter Justin Turner’s RBI single in the bottom half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: RF Gerardo Parra and Hill also recorded three hits apiece for Arizona, which has lost three in a row. … The crowd at Dodger Stadium erupted in the sixth inning after learning the Los Angeles Kings captured their second Stanley Cup championship in three years. … The Dodgers activated C A.J. Ellis from the 15-day disabled list and optioned C Tim Federowicz to Triple-A Albuquerque.