On a night when Clayton Kershaw looked beatable, the Dodgers
played long ball with four home runs enroute to a 14-5 win over Chicago.
While the Dodgers were roughing up the Cubs, San Diego was
posting a 5-0 whitewash of the Giants to allow Los Angeles to build a 3.5 game
lead in the National League West with eight games to play in the regular
season.
Matt Kemp started the onslaught with a three-run shot to
left in a six-run first inning, A.J. Ellis hit a pair of two-run dingers and
Yasiel Puig added a three-run blast as the Dodgers put up 13 hits against Chicago’s
pitchers.
Cub’s starter Edwin Jackson didn’t make it through the first
inning but the Dodgers kept hitting, scoring twice in the third and six times
in the sixth inning.
Kershaw went five innings and gave up three runs on seven
hits, walked three and struck out nine on a day he battled with control and the
wind blowing out at Wrigley Field. Despite the rough outing, Kershaw became the first 20-game winner in the majors, improving to 20-3.
Jamey Wright, Scott Elbert, Brandon League and J.P. Howell
pitched in relief, Howell getting tapped for two meaningless runs in the ninth.
With three games against the Giants looming next week in Los
Angeles, the Dodgers are finding their strokes in the batter’s box.
Adrian Gonzalez leads the league in RBIs and Kemp, Puig, Juan
Uribe and Carl Crawford have been on fire since the All-Star break. If Hanley
Ramirez heats up, the Dodgers will go into the playoffs with one of the most
potent offenses in baseball.
Los Angeles will send Roberto Hernandez to the hill tomorrow
in Chicago. Hernandez didn’t get out of the fourth inning in his last start so
Dodgers' skipper Don Mattingly will have the bullpen ready to go.
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