Kershaw paces Dodgers to 5-1 win over Milwaukee

Reeling from two straight losses to the Brewers, the Dodgers called on Clayton Kershaw to steer the Good Ship Los Angeles back on course today and the ace lefty did the job, holding Milwaukee to one run on six hits enroute to a 5-1 victory.

Kershaw didn’t have his best stuff, but pitched out of trouble on more than one occasion to notch his 14^th win against only two losses and lower his ERA to 1.78.

Kershaw is on track to win his third Cy Young Award in four years.

Kershaw did it all for the Dodgers, making a diving catch to spoil a squeeze play and double up a runner at third; scored when he got aboard on a walk; and drove in a run with a line single to left field.

Oh, and he picked a runner off first base for good measure.

Offensively, the Dodgers backed up their ace with 14 hits, including three hits by light-hitting shortstop Miguel Rojas and a solo homer by A.J. Ellis, his first of the year. Ellis nearly had a second homer in the ninth but left fielder Khris Davis made a circus catch at the wall to deny him.

Adrian Gonzalez continued his feasting on Brewers’ pitching, knocking a pair of doubles and two RBI to finish with a 7-for-10 series with five RBI and five extra-base hits, including two dingers.

"I've got a good feeling right now," said Gonzalez. "I'm a very streaky hitter, so I hope I continue doing that. I've been really good in spurts and really bad in spurts."

Matt Kemp continued his post-All Star resurgence, getting a pair of hits and an RBI to raise his average to .284.

Carl Crawford and Juan Uribe added a pair of hits apiece.

Milwaukee hurt themselves on the base paths throughout the evening. In the third inning, pitcher Jimmy Nelson doubled down the right field line but then got thrown out at third on a Carlos Gomez grounder to Rojas at short.

Kershaw then picked off Gomez to quell any rally the Brewers might have been piecing together.

In the fourth, Ryan Braun singled to center and moved to second on a wild pitch by Kershaw. Braun then got greedy and tried to take third on ball in the dirt but Ellis gunned down Braun on a bang-bang play at third. Initially called safe on the play, Braun was eventually called out when Mattingly challenged the call and got an instant replay review.

In the fifth, Rickie Weeks doubled to right and moved to third on an infield out. Juan Segura then tried a squeeze bunt to score Weeks but Kershaw came off the mound in a dive, caught the ball fully extended and doubled up Weeks at third.

The Dodgers continue their road trip tomorrow with the opener of a four-game set against Atlanta.

With San Francisco’s 7-4 loss at Kansas City, the Dodgers moved to 4.5 games in first place in the NL West.