The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals for the second straight night, although Tuesday saw a pitcher’s duel one night after a blowout. The Dodgers pushed across a few runs and held on late to earn a 3-1 victory and series win at Dodger Stadium.
Clayton Kershaw got the start on the mound and as he has done all season, turned in a very solid outing for the Dodgers. Kershaw allowed a run in the second inning on an RBI single by Matt Carpenter, but settled in from there and retired 13 batters in a row.
Kershaw would up allowing just the one run in seven innings of work, to go with four hits while striking out nine and walking one to earn his 11th victory of the season. He has gone at least six innings in all 20 starts this year and has a 2.77 ERA, which is tied for fifth-best in the National League.
Arguably the play of the night came with two outs in the top of the seventh with the Dodgers leading 2-1. With the tying run on base, Andrew Krizner launched a fly ball to deep right field that looked to be extra bases.
Joc Pederson came out of nowhere to make an outstanding over-the-shoulder catch to help Kershaw escape the jam and finish out his night on a high note. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted that was the final batter Kershaw was going to face.
Offensively, the Dodgers stayed quiet for most of the night, only bringing home singular runs in the second, third and seventh innings. Kristopher Negrón and Max Muncy each drove in a run apiece on singles, and Justin Turner had an RBI of his own on a double.
The Cardinals had a chance to get back into it in the eighth inning, loading the bases against Pedro Baez. He escaped the jam by striking out Paul DeJong, and Kenley Jansen closed it out to earn his 26th save of the season.
