After defeating the Colorado Rockies in the series opener at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers increased their lead in the National League West behind seven innings from Clayton Kershaw and Chris Taylor’s walk-off home run in the 10th inning.
The walk-off homer was Taylor’s first of his career, which naturally put him in the spotlight after the win. However, Kershaw issuing five walks was also noteworthy because of the uncharacteristic nature of it.
Despite that, he allowed just two runs (one earned), which allowed the Dodgers to erase a 2-1 deficit and ultimately earn their walk-off victory.
Considering how the expected pitchers’ duel played out, Kershaw found both excitement and oddity with the game, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Man, that was a lot of fun. I think we all understand the magnitude of the game tonight. It was kind of a back-and-forth game, kind of a weird game. Freeland, I thought threw the ball really well. I threw the ball OK. I don’t know how many I walked, but it was a lot. Work around them, do your best, just try to get the next guy and kind of refocus. It was a fun game. Glad we were on the winning side.”
Kyle Freeland took the mound with the Rockies having won his last eight starts. They trailed the Dodgers early as Matt Kemp’s RBI single cashed in Manny Machado’s two-out double. Freeland himself doled out four walks, though held the Dodgers to just two runs in 6.2 innings.
Even with the outing not being one that met Kershaw’s standards, it was another in a string of strong starts this season. It’s come at a pivotal time and been instrumental to the Dodgers climbing up the NL West standings.
