Dodgers 3, Rockies 1: Clayton Kershaw effective again in his creep towards 3000 strikeouts, Dodgers complete sweep

The Dodgers have completed a sweep of the Rockies to start their short road trip — Clayton Kershaw continued to be effective, and the offense did just enough for him in a 3-1 victory.

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The thing that matters here is Clayton Kershaw’s chase for his 3000th strikeout, but that’s overshadowing how effective he’s been this year. Things started well in the 1st with a clean frame, but Brenton Doyle did get him for a solo shot in the 2nd to put the Rockies up 1-0.

Anddd … that was it for the Rockies. They managed just a single and a walk over the next four innings, and the latter was erased by a double play, so he faced just one over the minimum.

He was effective and efficient, striking out five batters to put Kershaw three away from 3000: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 69 Pitches.

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The bats of the Dodgers didn’t exactly set the world on fire again, managing just a single through the first two innings. But they got a rally with one-out in the 3rd behind a Miguel Rojas double and Shohei Ohtani walk to put a pair on. After a wild pitch advanced them both, Mookie Betts hit an infield single that looked awfully familiar to last October to tie things up at 1-1.

Unfortunately, a double play followed, so that was all they got, and they also went down in order in the 4th, then stranded a lead-off double in the 5th.

Eventually, they finally got on the board again in the 6th, as a Mookie double, a Will Smith walk, and a Freddie Freeman single made it 2-1. However, they again couldn’t get anything further.

Some insurance came via Ohtani’s 28th homer of the year in the 7th, extending the lead to 3-1.

That was all the bats got for the game, as they got just a two-out double in the 8th the rest of the way.

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And so that left things up to the pen.

Kirby Yates started things, issuing a two-out walk in the 7th but getting a scoreless frame. A Michael Kopech clean frame followed in the 8th, which set things up well for Tanner Scott. He started shakily by issuing a walk, but rebounded with a strikeout and then got a bizarre double play where Andy Pages caught a fliner and doubled the runner off.

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NL WestRecordGB
Dodgers51-31
Giants44-36*6.0
Padres44-366.0

The Dodgers will now travel to Kansas City for a three-game series against the Royals starting at 2:10 PM HT/5:10 PM PT/8:10 PM ET. It’ll be Dustin May matching up against Noah Cameron on MLB Network.

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"A highly rational Internet troll." - Los Angeles Times