After dropping two of the first three against the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers took the field Thursday looking to avoid dropping another home series.
On the mound for the Dodgers was none other than ace Clayton Kershaw. The southpaw once again carried the team this season, living up to his identity as the best pitcher in baseball.
The Dodgers spotted Kershaw a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and led 5-0 after two. It was all he needed as he held the Mets without a hit until Asdrubal Cabrera led off the fourth inning with a single that that rolled into right field in large part because Chase Utley was shaded up the middle.
New York finished the game with just three hits — Curtis Granderson hit a double in the sixth inning, and Cabrera a two-out base hit in the ninth. Although his stretch of strikeouts without issuing a walk came to an end in the first inning, Kershaw was otherwise his dominant self.
He notched his 14th career shutout, which leads all active pitchers, and put together a fifth consecutive start with at least 10 strikeouts, finishing the night with 13. Kershaw is the first pitcher in Dodgers franchise history to accomplish that feat.
His final three punchouts came in emphatic fashion as he struck out the side in the ninth inning. What’s more, the complete-game shutout is Kershaw’s second consecutive at Dodger Stadium.
