The Los Angeles Dodgers notched their second straight victory on Friday night, defeating the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, at SunTrust Park.
The story of the night was the performance of ace Clayton Kershaw, who turned back the clock a bit by tossing 7.2 innings. He allowed just six hits and one run while striking out eight without issuing a walk.
It marked the first time Kershaw pitched into the eighth inning since last September. Kershaw’s teammates gave him some early run support, beginning in the third inning when rookie outfielder Alex Verdugo hit a home run to straightaway center field off Braves start Mike Foltynewicz.
The home run was the first at the big league level for Verdugo this season, and second of his career. He wasn’t the only Dodger to go deep, as Yasmani Grandal hit his 17th of the season, which is the most among all primary catchers.
Grandal has been one the best hitters in all of baseball in the month of July, reaching base more than 50 percent of the time.
Kershaw helped out his own cause later in the fourth inning when he hit an opposite-field single to drive in the Dodgers’ other two runs. He had a strong night at the plate, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances with that single and three walks to raise his season on-base percentage to a respectable .313.
Friday marked the 19th time that the Dodgers won a game since 2016 in which only Kershaw and closer Kenley Jansen pitched. Jansen got the final four outs to earn his National League-leading 30th save of the season.
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