After putting up a lackluster performance in the series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers got back on track to earn a 9-0 victory over the rival San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Joc Pederson did not waste any time getting the offense started, hitting an opposite-field home run off Giants rookie starter Shaun Anderson to lead off the bottom of the first. The long ball was Pederson’s 19th on the season and his first since June 2.
It was also his fourth leadoff home run on the season and 15th in his career with the Dodgers, which moved Pederson into sole possession of second place on the franchise all-time list. He still has a while to go before breaking Davey Lopes’ record of 28 leadoff homers.
Later in the game, Kiké Hernandez broke it open with a grand slam off Giants reliever Trevor Gott in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hernandez has been struggling at the plate a bit as of late, but the home run was his 11th on the season.
The Dodgers offense was methodical all night, slugging out 14 hits while also walking five times to earn their nine runs. Nine different players scored runs while six drove them in.
All of the runs were in support of Clayton Kershaw, who turned in his best outing of the season. Tuesday marked the five-year anniversary of Kershaw’s no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies and while he did not no-hit the Giants, he did toss seven shutout innings to earn his seventh victory of the season.
The Giants could only muster three hits and two walks on offense against Kershaw while he struck out six batters, lowering his season ERA to 2.85 in the process. The Dodgers have now won 11 of the 12 games he has started this season.
