The Los Angeles Dodgers snapped their three-game losing streak and ended the homestand on a positive note with an 8-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. They were led by seven shutout innings from Clayton Kershaw, and a Justin Turner home run before breaking the game open late.
Kershaw turned in something of a vintage performance came at a needed time for a beleaguered bullpen and was indicative of what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts highlighted before the game.
“I think Clayton, in the best possible way, can be stubborn at times, and we all know that,” Roberts said.
“But understanding his arsenal and knowing he has so many above-average weapons, just to evolve and understand that being able to attack guys in different ways has made him effective, if not more. It’s actually fun to watch that evolution because now there’s no one book, whether lefty or righty, to gameplan against Clayton now.”
Kershaw relied on a heavy dose of breaking pitches en route to collecting eight strikeouts over seven shutout innings. He scattered four hits and issued just one walk in the outing.
After stranding Mookie Betts’ leadoff double in the first inning, the Dodgers capitalized on Chris Taylor starting the second with a walk. He moved into scoring position on Sonny Gray’s wild pitch and advanced to third base on AJ Pollock’s hard-hit single to left field.
Given how the Dodgers have scuttled over the past week, it was somewhat fitting they took the lead not on a hit with a runner in scoring position, but Luke Raley grounding into a double play.
Their 1-0 lead was doubled on Turner’s 411-foot solo home run to left-center field in the third inning. The homer was Turner’s team-leading sixth of the season, which also doubled his career total for games played in March and April heading into the 2021 season.
While Turner made solid contact, Gray largely had the Dodgers off balance throughout the afternoon. He finished with just the two runs allowed an 11 strikeouts, which was one shy of tying a career high.
L.A. went quiet after Turner’s home run until Nick Castellanos failed to make a play on Chris Taylor’s drive to right field, resulting in an RBI triple. Pollock provided more insurance with a base hit to left field, Matt Beaty contributed a pinch-hit two-run single and Betts drove in two on his own drive up the middle.
Dodgers bullpen holds up
Blake Treinen was the first Dodgers relief pitcher to follow Kershaw, and he worked out of a jam by getting back-to-back strikeouts after Cincinnati put two on in the eighth inning. With the game effectively in hand, Kenley Jansen stopped warming up and Garrett Cleavinger instead entered to finish it out.
He got two outs before being struck by a line drive in the back of his left arm. Cleavinger recovered to make the play, only for the call to be overturned. The Dodgers exercised caution and replaced the left-hander with Dennis Santana.
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