Clayton Kershaw turned in a disastrous outing as the Los Angeles Dodgers were swept by the San Diego Padres in their two-game series at Petco Park, dropping the final game 8-1.
After a scoreless first for both sides, the Padres got to Kershaw for a four-run second inning. It was started by a single from Jackson Merrill and a walk to Ha-Seong Kim.
Luis Campusano singled to put the Padres up 1-0. Bryce Johnson followed with a bunt, but Kershaw was unable to field it cleanly, resulting in a 2-0 Padres lead.
A wild pitch from Kershaw put both runners in scoring position before Luis Arraez grounded out to drive in the third run. The fourth came on a two-out single from Jurickson Profar to cap off the inning.
In the fourth, the Padres got on the board again with a home run from Campusano. A single from Johnson and Arraez reaching on an error from Lux set the stage for Profar to come through again with another RBI single, giving the Padres six runs.
Xander Bogaerts roped a sacrifice fly to give the Padres their seventh run and end Kershaw’s day.
Kershaw pitched just 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs (three earned) on six hits with one walk and no strikeouts. The lack of strikeouts was perhaps the most notable part of his day.
It was the first time in his career that Kershaw has failed to strike out at least one batter in his start, anding an MLB record streak of 423 consecutive regular season games with at least one strikeout.
Brent Honeywell also allowed a run.
The Dodgers scored their run on a double from Gavin Lux in the third inning after a single from Nick Ahmed and walk from Shohei Ohtani. However, the rally was ended when Ohtani ran through a stop sign from third base coach Dino Ebel and was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Will Smith also had the fifth three-strikeout game of his career, and second of the road trip.
The Dodgers now have a day off before they face the Oakland A’s.
Padres closing gap on Dodgers in National League West
With the Dodgers’ loss, their division lead in the National League West now stands at just 4.5 games. The Padres also hold the tiebreaker over the Dodgers if the two were to finish with the same record in the division due to San Diego’s 7-3 head-to-head record.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted the Padres have been building momentum, and the Dodgers will need to step up their play.
“They made some additions, they’re feeling good,” Roberts said. “They’re playing great baseball… So they’re certainly feeling good about themselves, absolutely.”
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