Dodgers vs. Cardinals: Clayton Kershaw looks to extend record streak

The Dodgers take their 15-game road winning streak into Tuesday's battle with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, looking to extend their historic run. The Dodgers have also won five straight games overall, with their last loss coming the last time Clayton Kershaw was on the mound.

It wasn't Kershaw's fault that the Dodgers lost on July 31 to the Yankees, one of only two losses for the Dodgers in 17 games since the All-Star break. Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, continuing his quest toward a second Cy Young Award.

In fact, Kershaw may be in line for an MVP award, as David Schoenfield and Tristan Cockroft discussed at ESPN.

Kershaw, who led the major leagues in ERA in both 2011 and 2012, leads MLB again in 2013 with a 1.87 ERA. On Monday he captured his second career National League Pitcher of the Month Award after allowing seven runs and two walks in six starts in July, with 43 strikeouts.

He starts for a Dodgers team that is the first National League team with 15 straight road wins since the Cincinnati Reds in 1957. The only three teams in baseball history with a longer road winning streak within a single season, per Elias, are the 1984 Tigers (17 straight), 1916 Giants (17) and 1912 Washington Senators (16).

The Tigers, when counting their final four road games of the 1983 season, won 21 straight road games overall.

Before the streak the Dodgers were 16-24 on the road this season and 39-51 in their last 90 games away from home, dating back to 2012.

Now, the Dodgers hold the best road record in baseball at 31-24.

Notes

• Adrian Gonzalez was 1-for-3 on Monday and scored the Dodgers' first run of the game. In his career he has hit .373/.425/.627 in 19 games in St. Louis, with eight doubles and three home runs. He has reached base via hit or walk in all 19 career games at Busch Stadium.
• Manager Don Mattingly was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday talking about the Dodgers' turnaround this season.
• Dodgers pitchers during the Dodgers' 32-7 streak have a 2.64 ERA, second in the major leagues during that span to the Rays, who have a 2.53 ERA and at 28-9 have the second-best record to the Dodgers during that span.
• Kenley Jansen leads all major league relievers with 82 strikeouts and with just nine walks (eight unintentional) has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 9.11, second in MLB to Edward Mujica of the Cardinals, who has 39 strikeouts and two walks this season to go with his 30 saves.
• The Dodgers go for a sixth consecutive win, which would match their season high. In the Dodgers' last 39 games they have two six-game winning streaks, two five-game streaks and two four-game streaks.
• Kershaw is 4-4 with a 3.82 ERA in 11 career starts against the Cardinals, his second-highest ERA against any team with at least three starts. At Busch Stadium, he is 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA in five starts, though his starts in St. Louis have been Capuano-esque with two starts of zero runs allowed, one with one run, one with five runs, and one start (last year) with eight runs given up.
• Former UC Riverside Highlander and Tuesday's Cardinals starter Joe Kelly has allowed eight runs, seven earned, in 14 innings in three career games against the Dodgers, including two starts. St. Louis has lost all three games.

Game info

Time: 5:15 p.m.

TV: KCAL

MLB Gameday