Clayton Kershaw goes the distance as Dodgers finish sweep of Giants
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
When we’re looking back at how the NL West was won in 2015, chances are we’ll be talking about the just completed three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
At several points this season, it looked as though the Dodgers were poised to lose their grip and allow the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants to overtake them. That never happened, and now they have complete control again after sweeping the Giants out of town.
The Dodgers completed the task behind Clayton Kershaw. Their star left-hander was on point in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory, going the distance and striking out 15.
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The outing required a season-high 132 pitches and contained plenty of drama. The Giants put two runners on base with two outs in the ninth and forced Don Mattingly’s hand. To the delight of the fans, Mattingly stuck with his ace. The move paid off perfectly as Kershaw struck out Marlon Byrd to end the game.
Speaking of strikeouts, Kershaw has now set a career-high with 251, and we still have four weeks to go.
Is Kershaw getting better?
It’s possible. Just as it’s possible the addition of Chase Utley will prove fruitful. He connected for his first Dodgers home run, and that held up as the difference.
What we do know for sure is the Dodgers postseason chances got much better this week. They now hold a 6 1/2 game lead over San Francisco with 30 games to play.
RYAN ZIMMERMAN AND JONATHAN PAPELBON SAVE THE NATS
In desperate need of a win Wednesday night in St. Louis, two veterans came to the Washington Nationals rescue.
Long-time cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman paced the offense, collecting three different go-ahead hits in the Nationals 4-3 victory.
Two of those hits were home runs against Cardinals starter Tyler Lyons. The second was the 200th home run of Zimmerman’s career, which have all come wearing a Nationals uniform. After St. Louis evened things again in the seventh on Kolton Wong’s RBI single, Zimmerman delivered the decisive hit, an RBI double scoring Anthony Rendon.
That set the stage for closer Jonathan Papelbon. Yes, it was a save situation. And no, Matt Williams did not hesitate calling on their trade deadline acquisition.
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Naturally, Papelbon did his job. Despite allowing a pair of hits, Papelbon put the clamps down, striking out Tommy Phan and getting Wong to ground out to end it. For Papelbon, it was his 23rd save overall and his sixth since joining the Nationals.
It was a rare night where everything went right for the Nationals.
Well, almost everything. Bryce Harper did leave the game with tightness in his glute, though that’s expected to be minor. The Mets also won, so Washington didn’t gain ground. But the fact they didn’t lose ground is encouraging.
JOEY VOTTO CRUSHES CUBS IN NINTH
During Monday’s series opener, Cubs manager Joe Maddon elected to intentionally walk Joey Votto with runners on first and second. He’s probably wishing he’d done the same on Wednesday. With two on and two outs in the ninth, Votto connected on a go-ahead three-run homer, propeling the Reds to a 7-4 victory.
The home run came against Cubs closer Hector Rondon. It immediately followed an error by Kris Bryant, who allowed a Jay Bruce grounder to scoot between his legs. That capped a bittersweet afternoon for the Cubs third baseman. Just moments earlier, he delivered his own clutch homer, a two-run shot which tied that game in the eighth.
The Cubs threatened against Reds closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, placing runners at first and second with one out. Chapman rebounded, getting an overanxious Javier Baez to ground out and Dexter Fowler to strike out to end the game.
Reds starter Raisel Iglesias ended up with a tough luck no-decision. In seven innings, he allowed two runs on three hits while striking out 10. Over his last three starts, Iglesias has struck out a total of 33 batters.
YANKEES MASH RED SOX WITH FIVE HOMERS
The Yankees offense has been all or nothing over the last couple weeks. On Wednesday afternoon they went all-in, defeating the Red Sox and Henry Owens 13-8 at Fenway Park.
The Yankees slugged five home runs in the game, including three in their eight-run second inning. Greg Bird and John Ryan Murphy went back-to-back to start the barrage. Carlos Beltran then capped the rally with a two-run blast. In the third, Stephen Drew added a three-run homer. Didi Gregorious hit a solo shot in the fifth to punctuate the outburst.
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At that point the Yankees held a 12-1 lead behind Masahiro Tanaka. Their ace right-hander ended up tossing 6 1/3 innings of four-run ball, which was plenty good enough for his 11th victory. However, things did get rather interesting once the Yankees bullpen entered. The Red Sox scored five runs over the final three frames, forcing Joe Girardi to use six different relief pitchers. That included Dellin Betances and closer Andrew Miller.
Fortunately for the Yankees they have an off day on Thursday. Everyone can get some rest. But anytime you need your two best relievers in a 12-1 game, it feels like a letdown.
Want to see more from Wednesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
