The Atlanta Braves were first to score but Clayton Kershaw helped his cause at the plate in a three-run fourth inning that propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-1 victory, their second in a row and ensuring at least a series split at SunTrust Park.
Before Kershaw and the offense put up a crooked number on Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz, Alex Verdugo got the Dodgers on the board with a game-tying solo home run in the third inning. The homer was Verdugo’s second of his young career.
Yasmani Grandal then broke the tie in the fourth by leading off with a solo home run of his own. A Matt Kemp walk and Chris Taylor’s put a pair of runners in scoring position with one out, and they were nearly stranded as Verdugo flied out to left field.
But Kershaw followed in Rich Hill’s footsteps from the night prior by slapping a two-run single inside third base. Not only did Kershaw best Hill by driving in two, he drew three walks to reach safely in all four plate appearances.
As for matters on the mound, Kershaw was nothing short of efficient as he regularly induced weak contact. A ground-rule double and base hit to open the second inning did eventually lead to Atlanta taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout.
However, that also marked the start of Kershaw retiring nine in a row. The string was snapped by Ender Inciarte’s one-out single in the bottom of the fifth, which nothing came out of for the Braves.
Kershaw was at 66 pitches through six innings, then ran into a bit of a jam in the seventh. Following Nick Markakis’ leadoff single, a fastball got away from Kershaw and hit Kurt Suzuki to put two on with nobody out.
Kershaw was at 66 pitches through six innings, then ran into a bit of a jam in the seventh. Following Nick Markakis’ leadoff single, a fastball got away from Kershaw and hit Kurt Suzuki to put two on with nobody out.
After Kershaw got Johan Camargo to strike out, he benefitted from good fortune as Inciarte lined into an inning-ending double play. Dansby Swanson led off the eighth with a single, which was followed by consecutive strikeouts, to give Kershaw eight on the night.
But he was unable to finish the inning as Ozzie Albies flipped a two-out single into center field, bringing the tying run to the plate. Kenley Jansen needed all of one pitch to retire National League MVP frontrunner Freddie Freeman, and he got through the ninth inning without issue to complete the four-out save.
Although Kershaw didn’t get through the eighth, it marked his first time since last September completing more than seven innings (postseason included).
With their win, the Dodgers improved to 46-37 in games they hit a home run in, compared to a 12-19 mark when they don’t homer.
As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in preparation for the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy & Cookies Policy. The updated Privacy & Cookies Policy will take effect on May 22, 2018. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy. We recommend that you read our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy in full.
