Andre Ethier celebrated his 30th birthday in style on Tuesday, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie and give the Dodgers a 2-1 win in their home opener on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
The home run was the second in as many games for Ethier, who has five extra-base hits in five games this season.
Kershaw was great in his seven innings. He allowed just one run, which didn't come until his final frame, and four hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts on the day. In his last 11 starts at Dodger Stadium, Kershaw has allowed nine runs in 85 innings (a 0.95 ERA) with 13 walks and 83 strikeouts.
But Kershaw didn't get a decision.
The Dodgers got off to a fast start, literally, with Dee Gordon singling to lead off the first inning, then stealing second easily off old friend and shortstop cradle expert Rod Barajas. Mark Ellis then delivered the classic productive out with a roller to second base, advancing Gordon to third base. Gordon scored on a grounder to shortstop off the bat of Matt Kemp.
Kemp's groundout gave him at least one RBI in nine straight games, dating back to last season, tying the Dodgers franchise record, jointly held with Roy Campanella (May 30-June 5, 1955) and Augie Galan (September 18-28, 1944), per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Kemp also has an RBI in the first five games of this season, making him the first Dodger to do so since J.D. Drew in 2006. The club record for consecutive games with an RBI to open the season is seven, held by Carl Furillo (1957) and Ron Cey (1977).
But that was all that Kevin Correia allowed, as the Pirates right-hander allowed one run on four hits in six innings, keeping the game close until Pittsburgh tied the game in the seventh inning.
Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the win, and Javy Guerra closed it out in the ninth for his third save.
Today's Particulars
Home Runs: Andre Ethier (2)
WP - Kenley Jansen (1-0): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts
LP - Jason Grilli (0-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 2 strikeouts
Sv - Javy Guerra (3): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout