Dodgers 6, Marlins 0: Clayton Kershaw tossed eight sizzling innings and added an RBI single as visiting Los Angeles secured its sixth consecutive series victory.
Carl Crawford ripped a two-run double in the fourth inning before A.J. Ellis' RBI double and Skip Schumaker's run-scoring single capped a two-out uprising in the fifth. Adrian Gonzalez collected a pair of hits and scored on Yasiel Puig's sacrifice fly for the National League West-leading Dodgers, who took three of four from Miami and have won 45 of 55 overall to increase their division lead to 9 1/2 games over Arizona.
After scattering three hits over eight scoreless innings against Philadelphia on Saturday, Kershaw (13-7) improved to 8-2 over his last 11 starts with another stellar outing. The 2011 NL Cy Young Award winner yielded five hits and struck out six before Brian Wilson fanned two in the ninth while making his Dodger debut. The former All-Star closer was making his first major-league appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Kershaw also helped his cause by depositing a 1-0 fastball from Henderson Alvarez (2-3) into left field to plate Puig to open the scoring in the fourth. Crawford followed with a double to right to give Los Angeles a 3-0 lead.
Ellis and Schumaker provided insurance with another two-out out rally in the fifth. Ellis plated Andre Ethier with an RBI double before coming home on Schumaker's soft single to center.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Alvarez suffered his second straight loss after permitting five runs on seven hits in five innings. ... Puig entered the game mired in a 4-for-30 slump, but went 1-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored. ... Los Angeles opens a nine-game homestand on Friday with a three-game set versus Boston. Miami, which has dropped 13 of 18, will wrap up a 10-game homestand when it opens a three-game series against Colorado.
LA Dodgers | Miami | |
Clayton Kershaw | Player | Henderson Alvarez |
Win | W/L | Loss |
8.0 | IP | 5.0 |
6 | Strikeouts | 3 |
5 | Hits | 7 |
0.00 | ERA | 9.00 |
LA Dodgers | Miami | |
Adrian Gonzalez | Player | Ed Lucas |
2 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
3 | TB | 2 |
.400 | Avg | .667 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
LA Dodgers | 8 | 0 | 13 | .235 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Miami | 6 | 0 | 8 | .200 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |