Clayton Kershaw set a season high with 12 strikeouts but his inability to keep the ball inside the park cost the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees in the rubber match of their three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
The Yankees entered play having tied the MLB record for most home runs in a calendar month with 58. DJ LeMahieu gave them sole possession of the mark by depositing Kershaw’s third pitch of the game into the left-center field pavilion.
Aaron Judge sent a hanging curveball to the opposite field for a solo home run in the third inning, and Mike Ford’s homer in the sixth put the Dodgers in a 3-1 deficit. The three home runs Kershaw allowed tied a season high, and the six he surrendered in back-to-back starts are the most in his career.
Kershaw allowed four hits in his seven innings of work, turning in a 20th quality start this season. He’s logged at least six innings in all 23 outings.
While the home runs doomed him, Kershaw was more optimistic than after his start against the Toronto Blue Jays, per Rowan Kavner of Dodger Insider:
“I thought I threw the ball better than my last start,” Kershaw said. “I felt really good, felt everything was coming out decent. I made four mistakes and three of them went over the fence, and that’s no fun — frustrating, obviously. But, I can take some positives out of this one compared to the last one and get a little better.”
The matchup, taking place during MLB’s annual Players Weekend, was billed by many as a potential World Series preview. Whether the three games make a difference if the Dodgers and Yankees meet in the Fall Classic is something Kershaw hopes to experience:
“I don’t know if facing them gives you more or less help, I’m not sure,” Kershaw said. “But hopefully we can find out in October. That would be great.”
The Yankees lived up to their reputation as the highest-scoring team in baseball and southpaw punishers. With the majority of the damage coming against Hyun-Jin Ryu, he and Kershaw allowed a combined 10 earned runs on 13 hits, including six home runs.
Despite losing the series, the Dodgers maintain a one-game lead over the Yankees for the best record in baseball.
