Clayton Kershaw leads the Dodgers to NL West title
By Jake Misener
Left-hander Clayton Kershaw tossed eight innings of one-run ball, striking out 11, and also added an RBI triple, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants Wednesday night, clinching the team’s second-straight National League West crown.
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With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Los Angeles (91-68) broke things open with its first of two four-run frames, which got started with an opposite-field home run by outfielder Yasiel Puig. Carl Crawford added a two-run double to right field before the inning was capped with an RBI single off the bat of Juan Uribe, putting the Dodgers up 5-1.
The club’s second four-run inning came in the eighth, when Uribe delivered a bases-loaded single, plating a pair of runs and extending the Los Angeles lead to 7-1. A groundout by A.J. Ellis added an insurance run and a bases-loaded walk to Puig pushed the ninth – and final – run of the ninth for the Dodgers offense.
Puig brought the crowd to its feet an inning earlier, in the top of the seventh, when Matt Duffy singled to right-center with a runner at first base. The Cuban sophomore charged the ball fielding it, spinning and firing a perfect throw to third, nailing Gregor Blanco for the second out of the inning. San Francisco (85-73) failed to score in the inning.
Kershaw (21-3, 1.77 ERA) was absolutely dominant and was the first one to jump over the home dugout railing at Dodger Stadium when the final out was made when second baseman Darwin Barney ranged to his left, sliding to cut off a ground ball, throwing out Gregor Blanco at first base.
The southpaw’s bat tied the game in the fifth with an RBI triple to the left-center field gap, and a behind-the-back grab on a chopper hit back up the middle with two runners on and no outs in the third was just another highlight for the National League MVP and Cy Young Award candidate in an all-around dominant effort.
The Giants opened the scoring in the top of the third against Kershaw when Hunter Pence reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Joaquin Arias to score, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead early on.
The San Francisco starter, Tim Hudson, was solid until the sixth inning, when the Los Angeles offense came to life. Hudson (9-13, 3.57 ERA) was hit for three earned on five hits in 5 1/3 innings of work, striking out four and walking one.
The Giants appear likely to still make the postseason, as they currently hold the second National League Wild Card spot, despite going 3-7 in their last ten contests. A Giants win or a Milwaukee Brewers loss in the season’s final few days will clinch a postseason berth for Bruce Bochy‘s club.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, will likely take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series, which begins on Oct. 3. St. Louis lost to Chicago Wed. night, but saw its magic number drop to three, thanks to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 6-2 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Braves.