Clayton Kershaw and Brandon Woodruff went pitch for pitch until the Los Angeles Dodgers broke through in the fifth inning of a 3-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers to complete a sweep of the Wild Card Series.
Kershaw was in vintage form, keeping the Brewers off balance and largely off the bases as the Dodgers’ lineup sputtered itself. He stranded a Jedd Gyorko two-out single in the first inning, Luis Urias’ leadoff base hit in the third and Keston Hiura’s single to start the fifth.
Those were the only hits Kershaw allowed as he set a postseason high with 13 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings. It was Kershaw’s sixth career 10-strikeout game in the playoffs, and his eight innings pitched also tied a postseason career high.
Woodruff matched that effort early, striking out eight through four innings. The Dodgers’ lone baserunner to that point came on an Austin Barnes two-out single in the third. Woodruff started the fifth inning with a strikeout but then faced his first trouble.
Singles by Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor put two on with one out, which Woodruff followed by nearly inducing an inning-ending double play on a slow chopper to third base. Luis Urias stepped on the bag but his throw to first base was low and couldn’t dug out by Gyorko.
Barnes capitalized by driving an RBI base hit up the middle to break up the scoreless tie. Mookie Betts then followed with a two-run double down the third-base line that knocked Woodruff out of the game. Woodruff yelled in the direction of home-plate umpire Quinn Wolcott as he walked off the mound and was ejected.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave Kenley Jansen a vote of confidence prior to Game 2, but Brusdar Graterol was tasked with closing the game out.
Dodgers await NLDS opponent
By sweeping the Brewers, the Dodgers advanced to the National League Division Series, which will be played at Globe Life Field. The best-of-five series begins Tuesday, Oct. 6, and will be against the winner of the San Diego Padres-St. Louis Cardinals matchup.
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