The Los Angeles Dodgers could not get much going for them on offense as they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2, setting up a rubber match on Wednesday between the two first place clubs.
Clayton Kershaw was on the mound for his third start of the season since coming back from offseason shoulder surgery, and it ended up being a pretty encouraging day for the left-hander.
Kershaw started his day with two perfect innings before a broken-bat single broke up his no-hitter in the third, but he didn’t allow anything after that and ended up facing the minimum after Will Smith threw out Austin Hays at second.
In the fourth inning, Kershaw found himself in some trouble after allowing a pair of one-out singles that put runners at the corners against the Phillies’ cleanup hitter, Alec Bohm.
Kershaw ended up striking out Bohm and forced J.T. Realmuto to ground of softly to third to end the inning, getting him through four scoreless innings.
The following inning, Kershaw allowed a one-out double to Hays and hit Brandon Marsh with a pitch. With two outs, Kyle Schwarber singled home a run to put the Phillies up 1-0.
That ended Kershaw’s day after 4.2 innings, he allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Things fell apart for the Dodgers in the sixth inning when the Phillies ended up scoring three runs.
Brusdar Graterol took over on the mound in the sixth inning for his season debut after spending the first part of the year on the 60-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.
After making five pitches, Graterol injured what appeared to be his right hamstring and showed immediate signs of pain. He was checked on by the Dodgers training staff and exited the game with help getting off the field from Kiké Hernández and head trainer Thomas Albert.
Graterol, who was emotional with tears in his eyes while coming off the field, was immediately helped into the clubhouse, appearing unable to put any weight on his leg.
Brent Honeywell took over for Graterol, who allowed one single before exiting. The Phillies went on to string together two walks and two singles to score their three runs, making it a 4-0 game.
Honeywell ended up pitching the rest of the game, allowing two homers in the ninth inning to Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber.
The Dodgers answered in the next inning after Teoscar Hernández doubled and Will Smith grounded out to score him, but that was all they were able to score in the inning.
They had a chance in the seventh with two runners on and no one out, but after a line out from Nick Ahmed, a strikeout from Austin Barnes and a fly out from Shohei Ohtani, their chance to tie the game faded.
Hernández opened the eighth with his 25th homer of the season, but that ended the scoring for the club.
Gavin Stone looks to lead Dodgers to series win
The Dodgers and Phillies conclude the potential National League Championship Series matchup on Wednesday with both teams having a shot at a series win. Gavin Stone gets the ball for the Dodgers, looking to rebound from his rough patch, while Tyler Phillips will be on the mound for the Phillies.
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