Kershaw Brilliant Again in Dodger Loss

Clayton Kershaw was brilliant again last night, holding strong Cardinals offense to four hits over eight scoreless innings while striking out seven and only walking two. The strong start lowered his ERA over his last nine starts to 0.79, but it wasn't enough to get the win as the Dodgers were unable to score enough runs to get him the victory and break their three-game losing streak.


The four-hour and 53-minute, 15-inning marathon included eight shutout innings by ace-in-the-making Clayton Kershaw. Casey Blake avoided a tag from Yadier Molina by the slimmest of margins to score the first run of the game. Manny Ramirez made a rare leaping catch at the wall to save a couple of runs but was later nailed at the plate trying to score from second.

Jonathan Broxton blew a lead in the ninth. Ramon Troncoso blew another in the 11th. James Loney noticed that Joe Thurston missed first base in the 12th, turning a would-be double off Guillermo Mota into a 1-3 putout.

What everything amounted to was a 3-2 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals that extended the Dodgers' season-long losing streak to four games, as the contest was decided on a line drive that Albert Pujols sent screaming over the head of center fielder Matt Kemp.

Watch highlights of the game HERE.

Over the last month, Kershaw has a 0.71 ERA to go along with a 1.03 WHIP and 8.05 K/9 rate in 38 innings. On the season, he's got 8 wins while posting a 2.76 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 8.73 K/9 rate.

-Matt


Albert Pujols' hit beats Dodgers in 15th | Los Angeles Times

Dodgers let late leads slip, fall in 15th | dodgers.com

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals - Recap - July 29, 2009 | ESPN