Clayton Kershaw pitched another gem, leads Dodgers to 3-1 win

A tale of two pitchers.

It was Clayton Kershaw, it was Miles Mikolas. The Dodgers ended in the Light, the Cardinals left in Darkness. And that’s all the English Literature references I’ll make.

Tuesday night’s game was the epitome of a pitchers’ duel, with the Dodgers pulling out the 3-1 victory.

The Cardinals were the first to get on the board. Kershaw gave up a double and a single to start out the second inning, giving the Cards a 1-0 lead. It was the only blemish to Kershaw’s final line.

This lead lasted about 10 whole minutes before the Dodgers came knocking on the door. Corey Seager led off the second inning with a double to get things started. Kristopher Negrón brought in Seager with a 2-out base hit to tie the game at one run a piece. Negrón looks comfortable with his new team, since he’s gotten a hit in all seven games he’s played in a Dodgers uniform.

Justin Turner’s RBI double off Mikolas in the third inning lifted the Dodgers to a 1-run lead. They owned the game the rest of the way through.

Once the two starting pitchers got their runs out of the way, they were both lights out.

After No. 22 allowed a leadoff single in the third inning, he retired the next 13 batters. The only time he allowed anyone on base was via a walk.

Joc Pederson did Kershaw a huge favor with a spectacular catch in the seventh inning, saving what could have been the tying run from scoring.

Kershaw finished the game after seven innings, holding the Cardinals to one run on four hits and one walk. He also struck out nine, which is one shy of his season high.

Mikolas’s performance also deserves some recognition. Once Turner hit his go-ahead double in the third, Dodgers batters went 2-for-14 against the right hander. He earned a loss for his 2-run performance, but again, he pitched a great game.

The Dodgers final run was brought in by Max Muncy. He hit an RBI single to bring his season RBI total to 75, which is just 13 less than Cody Bellinger and 10th in the National League.

Anxiety filled the stands when the Cardinals made a huge threat in the eighth inning. Pedro Báez came in to relieve with a runner aboard and then gave up a base hit of his own. Marcell Ozuna won the battle at the plate, drawing a walk to load the bases with two outs. Then Báez came through with a huge strike out to Paul DeJong to end the inning.

Kenley Jansen ended the Cardinals hopes of a comeback with a scoreless ninth inning. Though he did allow a hit, he was showing strong command. He threw 14 pitches and 12 of them were strikes.

Tuesday’s win marked Kershaw’s 11th win of the season and his 20th time reaching at least six innings this season. The Dodgers are now 76-40 this season with a 45-15 home record.

Tuesday particulars

WP: Clayton Kershaw (11-2), 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K

LP: Miles Mikolas (7-12), 6 ¹⁄₃ IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K

SV: Kenley Jansen (26), 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Box score

Up next

The Dodgers look to sweep the Cardinals on Wednesday in an early afternoon matchup. The game will be live streamed through YouTube. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. PDT.