Clayton Kershaw gives vintage performance as Dodgers win

Clayton Kershaw delivered yet another classic performance, as the Dodgers got back in the win column as they took down the Reds, 8-0.

The offense was quiet through the first seven innings. Then in the eighth, they exploded for six runs, all coming with two outs. The first run on the afternoon came in the second inning. With runners on the corners and no outs, Luke Raley grounded into the double play. More runs would have been welcomed, but the go-ahead run was still nice regardless.

An inning later, Justin Turner doubled the lead with a solo shot for his sixth home run of the season. Turner continues to have an incredible April, and now I’m pretty convinced it’s all because he gave up dairy.

The offense was very quiet the rest of the way, at least until the eighth inning. With a two-run lead, LA added a lot of insurance runs. All the damage came with two outs as well. With a runner on first, Chris Taylor tripled to give LA the three-run lead. AJ Pollock then followed with a single, giving LA the four-run edge.

Raley was then intentionally walked and Austin Barnes followed with a walk of his own to load the bases. Matt Beaty, who has been raking since being called back up, delivered with a two-RBI single, making the lead 6-0. Mookie Betts then stepped up to the plate, wanting to get in on the fun. He responded with a two-RBI single, giving LA an 8-0 lead. Talk about a two-out rally!

Alright, now onto the highlight of the day. Clayton freaking Kershaw, man. The dude is just so good. For the game, he threw seven scoreless innings and struck out eight. It’s the 38th time in his career he’s thrown at least seven while striking out at least eight while issuing zero runs, tying him for the fifth most in baseball history.

Unfortunately, he did walk a batter, which was pitcher Sonny Gray! C’mon Clayton, step it up!

As impressive as it was that he kept this hot Reds lineup in check, they really couldn’t figure him out all afternoon. On Kershaw’s eight strikeouts he had 23 swings-and-misses, a new season-high for him. Out of those 23 whiffs, 22 of them were on breaking balls, which tied his career-high for the most in a single game in his career (also 2020 playoffs vs Milwaukee and in 2015 against the Giants).

The Reds put a runner on second base in the first inning, and had two runners on in the third inning. Aside from that, they never really had anything going against Kershaw. His ERA for the season is now down to 2.09. It’s 1.09 in his last five games since his bad start in Colorado to begin the season.

Blake Treinen got the eighth inning and it looked as if the bullpen was on the verge of another collapse. Facing the two best hitters in Cincy’s lineup, Treinen settled down and struck out the final two batters to escape the inning untouched.

Wednesday particulars

WP: Clayton Kershaw (4-2) 7 IP, 0 ER, 8 SO

LP: Sonny Gray (0-2) 5 ²⁄₃ IP, 2 ER, 11 SO

HR: Justin Turner (6)

Box score