Kershaw continues his renaissance

Veteran left-hander baffles Reds over five nings as the Dodgers win their third in row

- BY JACK HARRIS

CARLIN STIEHL Los Angeles Times

CLAYTON KERSHAW struck out six and gave up one run on two hits in five innings to improve to 9-2 as the Dodgers retained their one-game lead.

The Dodgers might be sprinting toward the finish line this year, trying to edge out the San Diego Padres in a tight National League West race.

But on Tuesday night, in a win that kept them one game up in the standings with 29 to play, they made a 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds feel more like a nice, leisurely stroll.

Clayton Kershaw continued his renaissance season, pitching five innings of one-run ball to earn a fifth consecutive victory (his longest such streak since the end of the 2022 season).

The offense steadily wore the Reds’ pitching staff down, answering a first-inning Cincinnati run with one of their own before taking the lead for good in the fourth.

It all added up to a third straight win for the Dodgers (76-57), and helped them hold serve on a night the Padres beat the Mariners in Seattle (despite blowing an early five-run lead).

“It’s been really fun to watch our guys play at the level that they're capable of,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I like how we're playing. I like where we're at right now.”

Kershaw provided the bedrock for Tuesday's victory.

The left-hander was pitching on four days' rest for the third time this season (more than anyone else on the team), so that Shohei Ohtani could be lined up to start ahead of an off day on Wednesday.

His already diminished fastball was playing down, averaging only 88 mph. And early on, the Reds (68-65) tagged him with a quick run, after Spencer Steer led off with a double and later scored on Miguel Andújar's groundout.

"It wasn't a great night, stuff-wise," Kershaw said.

"Didn't have a lot of life on the fastball, or really anything." And yet, starting with that Andújar grounder, Kershaw retired the last 14 batters he faced.