The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep over the Cincinnati Reds, receiving strong performances from their pitching staff throughout the series.
As expected, Clayton Kershaw was dominant in his complete-game shutout victory over the Reds on Monday, which was his third such outing during the month of May. The lefty ace struck out seven and walked one, pushing his season strikeout total to 95 over 79 innings pitched.
The Dodgers got a solid outing out of Mike Bolsinger on Tuesday after he came off a rocky season debut against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The right-hander bounced back nicely in Tuesday’s offensive outburst, allowing two earned over 5.2 innings of work; the Dodgers cruised to an 8-2 victory.
That left it to Scott Kazmir in the three-game finale, who has faced his fair share of ups-and-downs thus far in 2016. To his credit, Kazmir looked nothing like the pitcher who walked seven and allowed a pair of home runs in a start against the San Diego Padres.
The southpaw went six strong innings while allowing only one run and matching a season high with 12 strikeouts. Kazmir attributed the success to having command of his fastball, which allowed him to mix in his arsenal of pitches.