The Los Angeles Dodgers narrowly defeated the Chicago White Sox to win a 14th consecutive game Clayton Kershaw has started this season, which set a record for most in Los Angeles franchise history. Kershaw previously was part of a 13-game streak that was set in 2014.
Burt Hooton (1975), Sandy Koufax (1963) and Don Drysdale (1962) are tied for third-most with 12 consecutive team wins in their respective starts, per STATS, LLC. Kershaw threw seven shutout innings against the Chicago White Sox to improve to 11-0 in the current stretch.
He allowed seven hits, the most since the Chicago Cubs tallied 11 hits off Kershaw in a May 28 start at Dodger Stadium. The three-time Cy Young Award winner worked out of trouble on three separate occasions and held the White Sox to 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
The lone hit was Matt Davidson’s line-drive single in the sixth inning that put runners at the corners with one out. Avisail Garcia, who was on second base due to Corey Seager’s throwing error on an infield single, was forced to wait for the ball to drop before advancing on the bases.
Kershaw escaped the jam on a popped-up bunt attempt and groundout. He finished with seven strikeouts, snapping a stretch of three consecutive games with double-digit strikeouts.
On the year, Kershaw is 15-2 with a 2.07 ERA and 0.89 WHIP, with 166 strikeouts in an MLB-best 139.1 innings pitched. Kershaw’s effort contributed to the Dodgers’ 10th consecutive win.
It’s a second time this season they’ve put together a 10-game winning streak. The last team in franchise history to accomplish as much was Brooklyn, which had 10- and 11-game winning streaks during the 1955 season that ended with a World Series win.
In addition, the Dodgers’ 30-4 stretch is the best in franchise history. The last team to win 30 of 34 games was the 1977 Kansas City Royals; the 1936 New York Giants were the last National League team to go on such a run.