Clayton Kershaw shuts down Braves to complete sweep

LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw continued his sublime stretch of dominance on Thursday night, pitching another complete game in the Dodgers' 2-1 win over the Braves, completing a three-game home sweep. The Dodgers extended their winning streak to six games.

Kershaw struck out nine and allowed nine hits and no walks in his nine innings. Since Kershaw's 41-inning scoreless streak was snapped on July 10, his ERA is 1.55.

"He seems to dominate no matter who he faces," said first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. "They're a good club."

The Braves' best threat came in the ninth inning, when one-out singles by B.J. Upton and Tommy La Stella put runners at the corners. But Kershaw struck out Freddie Freeman swinging and got Justin Upton to ground to third base.

But Upton beat the throw to first, a call upheld on review, allowing a run to score, snapping Kershaw's scoreless streak at 18 innings.

Evan Gattis grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

Manager Don Mattingly said the game hadn't yet reached a point when he would have removed Kershaw, especially on a night when relievers Kenley Jansen and J.P. Howell were not available.

"I feel like it's his game at that point. He's our best guy. He's not at a pitch count that he's uncomfortable with, or we're uncomfortable with. He hasn't had many battles," Mattingly said. "It's his game."

Kershaw threw 111 pitches on the night.

"Right now I feel pretty strong and pretty good," Kershaw said. "Tonight and the other night in San Francisco in the ninth inning I felt normal, so that's a good sign."

Kershaw is 10-0 with an 0.94 ERA in his last 11 starts, with a total of nine runs allowed, eight walks and 104 strikeouts, but perhaps it be more simply stated like this: Kershaw allowed four runs in six starts in June, and he allowed five runs in five starts in July.

Yasiel Puig was instrumental in scoring both Dodgers runs on Thursday. He walked and scored on a double by Gonzalez in the first inning, then homered in the third, the latter his first home run at Dodger Stadium since May 28.

Puig finished 2-for-3 on the night, adding a double in the eighth, his team-leading 30th of the season.

Julio Teheran went eight innings for the Braves and struck out nine for the tough-luck loss. It was the firs double complete game at Dodger Stadium since Zack Grienke beat Tyler Chatwood and the Rockies on July 13, 2013.

Up next

After two straight sweeps, the Dodgers welcome the Cubs to town for a weekend series beginning Friday night at Dodger Stadium. Dan Haren gets the call in the opener for the Dodgers, facing Kyle Hendricks for Chicago.

Thursday particulars

Home run: Yasiel Puig (13)

WP - Clayton Kershaw (13-2): 9 IP, 9 hits, 1 run, 9 strikeouts

LP - Julio Teheran (10-7): 8 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts