Jim Cella
SEATTLE—Less than 24 hours after having nine players and an umpire stop the Dodger’s 7-game winning streak, it only took one Hall of Fame pitcher to single-handedly start another streak. Clayton Kershaw struck out a season-high 11 batters, allowed only one run in 7.0 innings and carried Los Angeles to a 6-1 win over the Mariners in the series finale. Kershaw’s 11 strikeouts added another check mark to his Dodger’s legacy as he passed Don Drysdale on the club’s all-time strikeout list and moved into second place behind Don Sutton.
Los Angeles won their MLB-best 19th game and moved to 19-8 on the season. The Dodgers also claimed the series victory against Seattle (3-1). They are now 7-0-2 in series this year and unbeaten in their last 14 series dating back to the end of the 2019 campaign.
GAME RECAP: If Jan Brady were writing the game recap the opening line would be, “Kershaw, Kershaw, Kershaw.” And the emphasis on the future Hall of Famer would be warranted. On Thursday, Kershaw wound back the clock to 2014 when he unanimously won the CY Young award with a 21-3 record and a dominant 1.77 ERA. He went 7.0 innings for the second straight start and only allowed one run. The 11 strikeouts were his most in a single game since August of last season when he fanned 12 Yankees in 7.0 innings. Kershaw threw a season-high 96 pitches to record his third win of the year. He only had five 3-ball counts all game long and finished off his gem by striking out his final two batters.
The Dodgers’ offense gave Kershaw all the runs he needed in the third inning when they sent eight men to the plate, came through with four hits and plated four runs. Matt Beaty started the scoring spree when he hit a ground rule double into the right field stands that brought home Kiké Hernández. Austin Barnes, who had been on first base when Beaty 1-hopped the wall, scored on a passed ball on the next at-bat and Beaty followed Barnes home when AJ Pollock reached on an infield single. Pollock would come around to score on a 2-out single from Cody Bellinger.
The Mariners scored their only run of the game on a solo homer from Kyle Seager in the fourth but then the Dodgers pushed the margin back to four runs in the top of the fifth when Mookie Betts scored on a wild pitch after he got aboard with a 1-out walk.
Bellinger would cap off the scoring on a 382-foot homer to right field in the top of the eighth.
Jake McGee and Adam Kolarek made sure that Seattle wouldn’t attempt a late-game comeback. McGee struck out a pair and didn’t allow a hit in the eighth while Kolarek put the Mariners down in order in the ninth.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
HE SAID IT: “It took a few innings to get my slider going. After Seager hit that homer I tried to do some different things with it and finish it a little better and it definitely got better as the game went on. The curve ball was pretty good throughout the whole day which I was thankful for to be able to throw strikes with it early and a lot of guys were taking it so it was a free strike and I was able to bury a few at the end for strikeouts.”— Clayton Kershaw on his performance in the 6-1 win.
OBSCURE STAT OF THE NIGHT: Kershaw had three double-digit strikeout games in 2019 and only one in all of 2018. The Dodgers are 19-2 in the last five seasons when Kershaw has at least 10 strikeouts in a game.
GOODBYE DRYSDALE, HELLO SUTTON: The 11 strikeouts pushed Kershaw’s career total to 2,493. He surpassed Don Drysdale for second place on the Dodgers’ all-time K list when he fanned Sheo Long Jr. in the fifth inning. Drysdale finished his Hall of Fame career with 2,486 strikeouts. Kershaw’s next target is Don Sutton who is the team’s all-time strikeout king with 2,696.
HE SAID IT 2: “Very cool. Just to be a Dodger long enough to accomplish something like that is pretty special. Someday I’ll look back on that and think it’s pretty cool.”—Clayton Kershaw on passing Drysdale and being second on the all-time strikeout list.
THE 2500 CLUB: Kershaw needs only seven more strikeouts to become the 39th pitcher in MLB history to reach the 2,500-strikeout mark. He is fourth among active pitchers and needs 15 more Ks to surpass the legendary Christy Mathewson for the No.38 spot on the all-time MLB K list.
ONE MORE W: Kershaw also added to his career win total. He now has 172 career victories in Dodger Blue which is fifth on the all-time list. He trails Don Sutton (233), Don Drysdale (209), Dazzy Vance (190) and Brickyard Kennedy (177).
MUST BE THE COFFEE: One final Kershaw nugget. He has now pitched at T-Mobile Park (Safeco Field) three times in his career and has gone 7.0 innings in each of those outings. He has 30 strikeouts in the three games (12,7,11) – and yes, he is a perfect 3-0 in Seattle.
ROAD TESTED: Los Angeles got back to their winning ways on the road on Thursday. The Dodgers are 11-3 in their 14 away games in 2020. They have the most road wins of any team in the majors.
INTERLEAGUE ASSAULT: The Dodgers continued their attack on American League teams. LA is 8-1 in interleague play in 2020 which is the best mark in baseball in interleague play. They are now 204-199 all-time against the American League since MLB went to interleague play in 1997. The next series against an American League team will be Aug. 28-30 when they play at Texas.
HIT STUFF: Bellinger and Hernández were the only Dodgers with more than one hit on Thursday as LA outhit the Mariners 7-4. Bellinger was 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI while Hernández went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
HE SAID IT 3: “To see Cody hit a ball in the right center gap for the base hit single and also homer that was also good to see. Even the way he is carrying himself after he does make an out, for me the body language is telling. He is carrying himself the right way. Which in turn allows him to turn things around a little more quicker.”—Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts talking to Alanna Rizzo about Cody Bellinger’s game and turning the corner on a recent slump.
NOT A BAD BOTTOM 3: Hernández was the leader of the Bottom 3 in the Dodgers’ lineup that sparked the offense in the finale. Hernández (7), Barnes (8) and Beaty (9) were a combined 4-for-11 (.364) as opposed to the Top 6 hitters in the order who went 3-for-23 (.130).
AND YOUR TEAM LEADER IN HITTING AFTER 27 GAMES IS…: Congrats to any Dodger fan that holds the winning ticket with the name Austin Barnes on it to lead LA in hitting after 27 games. Barnes was 1-for-3 on Thursday and upped his team-leading average to .306. He is the only Dodgers’ player hitting above .300 this season. Barnes also extended his hit streak to eight games which now leads the Dodgers after Justin Turner saw his 13-game streak come to an end with an 0-for-4 performance in the finale. Barnes is hitting .481 in the last eight games. Can you say “leadoff hitter”?
ON DECK: Los Angeles returns home to face Colorado for a 3-game series over the weekend. The Rockies started the season with an 11-3 record but since then have gone 2-9. They are 13-12 overall and 5.0 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West race. It’s the first series of the year against the Rox. Last year LA was a tidy 15-4 against Colorado which included an 8-1 mark – with three walkoffs – at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers are scheduled to throw Walker Buehler, Dustin May and Ross Stripling while the Rox will counter with the righty-lefty-righty combo of Jon Gray, Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela.
