Clayton Kershaw took the mound Wednesday afternoon for his second start since coming off the 60-day disabled list last weekend. It was Kershaw’s third career outing against the New York Yankees, but first at Yankee Stadium.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ struggles at the plate carried over from the previous night. Justin Turner walked with one out in the first inning but was stranded as Adrian Gonzalez struck out. Kershaw wasn’t overly sharp though managed to get through the bottom half on just 11 pitches.
Josh Reddick lined a one-out single into right field in the second inning for the Dodgers’ first hit. Michael Pineda then got Andre Ethier to fly out and Joc Pederson to strike out.
The Yankees didn’t have anyone reach in the bottom of the second, going down on 10 pitches. Pineda struck out a pair in the third inning en route to retiring the side in order.
Meanwhile, Kershaw remained efficient, completing a third scoreless inning with only 30 pitches thrown to that point.
After Gonzalez walked with one out in the fourth, Yasmani Grandal pulled the first pitch he saw down the right field line. Rob Refsnyder had the ball skip off his glove on a diving-catch attempt, resulting in a double for Grandal.
Reddick appeared to line into the shift for the second out, but he was awarded first base on catcher’s interference. With heavy rain falling, the importance of the bases-loaded situation increased.
Andre Ethier failed to get the Dodgers on the board, grounding into a 3-6-1 inning-ending double play. The tarp was rolled out and the game went into a rain delay. That only lasted 12 minutes, however.
Kershaw returned the mound for the bottom of the fourth and kept his perfect game intact, needing 14 pitches to complete another scoreless frame. After Yankees reliever Tommy Layne set the Dodgers down in order in the fifth, the game entered a second rain delay.
Play resumed 48 minutes later, and with Kershaw still on the mound in what was a surprise. Kershaw’s perfect game was immediately lost as Starlin Castro hit a one-hopper that ate up Turner, who was charged with an error.
Then the no-hitter was erased as Chase Headley singled to left. Kershaw buckled down after a sacrifice bunt advanced both runners, ending the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. Including what was thrown during the second rain delay, Kershaw finished his day’s work with 80 pitches.
Turner singled with one out in the sixth, only for Gonzalez to hit into an inning-ending double play. Grant Dayton came on in the bottom of the sixth and promptly struck out the side.
Pedro Baez allowed a one-out single and walked Headley to put two on. After retiring Didi Gregorius, Baez was replaced by Luis Avilan. The left-handed reliever struck out Brian McCann to escape the jam and keep the game locked in a scoreless tie.
Corey Seager reached on an error to start the ninth and soon after stole second base. Turner pulled a go-ahead double down the third base line, but was shaken up on his slide into second base. Turner remained in the game and tagged on Gonzalez’s deep fly ball.
That proved key as Turner broke for home plate on Grandal’s comebacker that Dellin Betances threw away at the plate. Kenley Jansen allowed a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth but otherwise struck out the side to convert the save opportunity in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory.
Coupled with the San Francisco Giants’ loss on Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers extended their lead in the National League West to five games and trimmed their magic number to clinch the division to 13.
