LOS ANGELES — Four times this month, Clayton Kershaw followed a Dodgers loss with a victory. On Tuesday night, he was glad to try something new.
Kershaw went five solid innings and led the Dodgers to a win, with this one coming after a victory.
The 6-3 decision over the Cincinnati Reds extended the team’s winning streak to three games and set them up to try for a second consecutive home sweep on Wednesday. They closed their previous homestand with a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres from Aug. 15-17.
It also kept the Dodgers one game ahead of the second-place Padres in the National League West race with San Diego beating the Seattle Mariners, 7-6.
Despite giving up a first-inning run, Kershaw set the tone with command and deception, while never topping 89.5 mph with his fastball. And yet he still recorded 12 swings and misses as he struck out six and did not walk a batter while earning his 221st career victory.
“I think the thing that’s been most impressive is his efficiency,” Manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “He’s getting strike one, he’s putting the ball in play, getting quick outs. I think he’s very cognizant of the fact that he only has so many bullets each night, and so he’s not going to waste them throwing balls.”
Of his tidy 72 pitches Tuesday, 49 were for strikes.
He was even pitching on four days of rest for just the third time in 17 starts as the Dodgers continue to prioritize giving a full seven days between starts for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“Just for Clayton to be open to it, to be able to adjust his schedule, has been huge,” Roberts said. “And he’s performed admirably. I mean, above that. So, yeah, the guys are all in and understand kind of what we’re dealing with, as far as a rotation, and there’s got to be a little bit of give and take.”
After Kershaw (9-2) delivered a four-start winning streak in June, he now has a five-start run, while posting a 1.88 ERA in August. He lowered his overall ERA to 3.06.
Utility man Kiké Hernandez made his return to the starting lineup, after missing nearly two months with left elbow inflammation, and he marked the occasion with a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.
Will Smith not only guided Kershaw from behind the plate, he hit a solo home run during a four-run sixth inning. His 16th home run of the season was just his second over his past 26 games dating to July 22.
The Reds scored early – on a Spencer Steer double to lead off the game and an RBI ground out from Miguel Andujar. That out started a run of 14 consecutive outs for Kershaw until his outing ended.
The Dodgers matched the run in the bottom of the first on a walk to Mookie Betts and a double from Freddie Freeman. Betts scored when the throw from left field by Austin Hays was well over the second base bag, with the ball rolling into shallow right field as Betts came home.
Smith’s home run in the sixth gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead that became 6-1 later in the inning when Miguel Rojas had a two-run double and Shohei Ohtani followed with an RBI single.
Right-hander Ben Casparius gave up a two-run home run to Hays in the seventh inning before Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Tanner Scott worked the ninth for his 20th save.
More to come on this story.