Coming off a complete-game shut out over the San Diego Padres last Sunday, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was tasked with ending another losing streak.
Kershaw faced the Toronto Blue Jays for the first time in his career, with the Dodgers losers in their last two games, and the Blue Jays in the midst of a four-game winning streak.
With the offense sputtering as of late, the Dodgers have needed Kershaw to be his dominant self more than ever in his last few outings to help lift the team out of the current woeful stretch.
To no surprise, that’s exactly what the Dodgers got out of their three-time Cy Young Award winner, as Kershaw largely kept a potent Blue Jays lineup in check.
Toronto hitters did force the left-hander to labor through some stretches, but Kershaw largely kept them off-balance throughout the game, utilizing his devastating slider to punch out both left- and right-handed batters.
The only two runs Kershaw allowed in the win came on a Darwin Barney RBI single in the second inning, and a Kevin Pillar RBI double in the fifth. Kershaw notched 10 strikeouts, marking Saturday’s start as a fourth consecutive with double-digit strikeouts:
The Dodger offense provided Kershaw with all the run support he needed thanks to solo home runs from Joc Pederson and Justin Turner. The other runs came with a Carl Crawford sacrifice fly, passed ball that allowed Chase Utley to score, and a two-run Adrian Gonzalez base hit.
