September 24 is a memorable date in Los Angeles Dodgers history as the team clinched the 2014 National League West title with a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants behind a dominant start from Clayton Kershaw.
The left-hander allowed one run on seven hits and collected 11 strikeouts against no walks in eight innings of work.
Hunter Pence gave the Giants a 1-0 lead in the top of the third with an RBI groundout, which stood as the score until Kershaw helped out his own cause.
He drove in Carl Crawford with an RBI triple off Tim Hudson in the bottom of the fifth that evened the scored at one.
The Dodgers took the lead for good in the sixth with Yasiel Puig’s go-ahead home run. A two-run double by Crawford and RBI single from Juan Uribe helped L.A. break the game open.
The Dodgers scored four more runs in the eighth behind another RBI single from Uribe, an RBI groundout by A.J. Ellis and bases-loaded walk for Puig.
Brian Wilson worked around a leadoff double in the ninth to record a scoreless inning, allowing the Dodgers to clinch their second consecutive NL West title.
Kershaw improved to an MLB-best 21-3 in what was his final start of the regular season. He posted a 1.77 ERA, 1.81 FIP, 0.86 WHIP and 10.8 strikeouts per nine in 198.1 innings pitched across 27 starts en route to NL MVP and Cy Young Award honors.
Dodgers NL West streak
The Dodgers won eight consecutive NL West titles from 2013-2020 until the Giants dethroned them the following year. However, L.A. would get the last laugh as they eliminated San Francisco in the 2021 NL Division Series.
The Dodgers bounced back by winning the NL West during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
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