Clayton Kershaw pitches Dodgers to victory
Reporting from Cincinnati — Regardless of how he did, Clayton Kershaw appears the same way after every game he pitches, standing tall and speaking clearly, brushing aside compliments and pointing out his shortcomings. He is polite but guarded, smiling but never overly excited.
Wednesday night was no different, as Kershaw performed his usual postgame routine as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
But clearly, something special was taking place.
“He’s a really good pitcher,” Andre Ethier said.
Regardless of his age.
Kershaw faced another 22-year-old in Mike Leake, handing the rookie-of-the-year candidate his first defeat by holding the Cincinnati Reds to a run and seven hits over 7 1/3 innings of a 6-2 victory for the Dodgers at the Great American Ball Park.
The win moved the Dodgers into first place in the National League West, half a game ahead of the San Diego Padres.
Kershaw improved to 7-3, including 6-1 over his last eight starts. Over that span, he has a 1.82 earned-run average and 61 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings.
“Every time he goes out there, he’s better,” Manager Joe Torre said. “His statistics may not be better, but I think when he goes out there, he finds something else out about himself.”
Early in the season, Kershaw had problems in the early innings, giving up runs and sending his pitch count soaring. Not anymore.
“I’m channeling my energy a little bit better,” he said.
Torre said that Kershaw is better than he was at the end of last season, when he posted a 2.56 ERA over his last 10 starts.
Catcher Russell Martin agreed.
“He’s more consistently in the zone,” Martin said. “He’s more aggressive.”
Settling in earlier and throwing more strikes has allowed the left-hander to pitch into the later innings with greater frequency. He has pitched seven innings or more in five of his last eight starts.
And Wednesday, he received help from a variety of places.
James Loney doubled down the right-field line in the fifth inning to drive in the first two runs of the game. Ethier hit his first home run since his return from the disabled list May 31, a three-run home run in the sixth inning that increased the Dodgers’ advantage to 5-0.
Manny Ramirez also went deep, doing so for the second time in as many days, but that probably wasn’t his most important contribution of the game. With the Dodgers holding a 2-0 lead in the fifth, Ramirez fielded a two-out single by Orlando Cabrera and threw out Ramon Hernandez at the plate.
The Dodgers relievers did the rest.
Hong-Chih Kuo entered the game in the eighth inning with two on and one out and promptly walked Jay Bruce to load the bases. But Kuo got Drew Stubbs to line out to shortstop Rafael Furcal, who beat a scampering Jonny Gomes back to second base to double him off.
Brandon Phillips scored in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Gomes shortly after plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt had ejected Scott Rolen and Manager Dusty Baker for arguing a called third strike.
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