A battle between aces Clayton Kershaw and Aaron Nola went in favor of the Philadelphia Phillies, who squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to earn a split of the four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
The start, which was Kershaw’s first since May 1, came with the same diminished velocity he pitched with prior to landing on the 10-day disabled list because of left biceps tendinitis. Kershaw nonetheless managed to hold the Phillies to one run on four hits in five innings.
He allowed a leadoff single on his first pitch of the game but induced a double play and was aided by Breyvic Valera’s diving catch at second base to face the minimum in a quick first inning.
After a walk and single put two on with one out in the second, Kershaw struck out Jorge Alfaro but was let down by his defense. Cody Bellinger first dropped a ball that should’ve been caught, then his throw to home plate was dropped by Yasmani Grandal.
Had Grandal maintained control of the throw, Maikel Franco easily would’ve been tagged out. As it were, he was ruled safe despite never touching home plate. The Dodgers did not challenge the call, which could’ve overturned it or led to a determination Grandal blocked the plate with the ball.
It should be noted home plate umpire Will Little never signaled as much, suggesting odds were in the Dodgers’ favor. Kershaw concluded his outing by striking out the side to five him five punchouts on the afternoon.
Pedro Baez and Tony Cingrani struck out the side in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively, but Josh Fields failed to keep the game tied in the seventh. He allowed a single and double with two outs, leading to the Phillies taking a decided lead.
Keeping with the theme from the first three games of the series, the Dodgers offense was late to show up. Nola didn’t allow his first baserunner until Justin Turner reached on an error with one out in the fourth inning. Yasiel Puig’s leadoff double in the fifth was the Dodgers’ first hit.
Kiké Hernandez’s grounder to the right side went off Carlos Santana’s glove and carried into the outfield for a game-tying RBI infield single.
Nova held the Dodgers to the one run on two hits, and had seven strikeouts over seven innings. Aaron Altherr robbed Hernandez of an extra-base hit to help Seranthony Dominguez get through a 1-2-3 eighth inning. He then retired the side in order in the ninth to convert the save.
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