Coming off a start in which he allowed a career-worst four home runs, Clayton Kershaw labored through the first inning against the Colorado Rockies before settling in. The end result was the Dodgers extending their season-best winning streak to nine games with a 4-0 victory.
Kershaw needed 33 pitches to get through the first inning, which saw the Rockies load the bases with one out. He escaped the jam unscathed by striking out Ian Desmond and Trevor Story. Kershaw followed that with two consecutive 10-pitch innings.
Following walks by Logan Forsythe and Yasiel Puig with one out, Kiké Hernandez’s RBI base hit gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Joc Pederson led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run.
The Rockies then had self-inflicted damage as Yasmani Grandal’s single to right field was overrun by Raimel Tapia, allowing Justin Turner to score from first base. Kershaw drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring in another run.
Spotted a 4-0 lead, Kershaw retired 13 in a row before, including striking out the side in the fourth inning, before allowing a two-out single to Rockies relief pitcher Chris Rusin in the fifth.
Charlie Blackmon’s base hit put runners at the corners, but Kershaw preserved his shutout by inducing DJ LeMahieu into a lineout. Kershaw retired the side in order in the sixth inning and though he lobbied to remain in the game, that was it at 103 pitches.
Brandon Morrow, Pedro Baez and Sergio Romo combined to throw three scoreless innings to wrap up the Dodgers’ win. Kershaw improved to 11-2 with a 2.47 ERA, and 93-0 lifetime during the regular season when provided with at least four runs of support.
What’s more, the shutout effort was Kershaw’s first since he blanked the San Francisco Giants over seven innings on May 17. Saturday’s loss was the Rockies’ fourth in a row.
The win was the Dodgers’ 50th this season and they improved to season-high 24 games over .500.
