Clayton Kershaw is masterful again in Dodgers’ win over Reds

Dodgers could sprint towards the finish line this year, trying to get ahead of the Padres in San Diego in a tight race in the West National League.

But Tuesday evening, they won a 6-3 victory against the Reds of Cincinnati feeling more like a great walk.

Clayton Kershaw continued his Renaissance season, launching five shots of a race to win a fifth consecutive victory (his longest sequence of this type since the end of the 2022 season). The offensive regularly wore the Reds pitch staff, responding to a first -round cincinnati race with one of their their before taking the lead for good in the fourth.

And everything increased to a third consecutive victory for the Dodgers (76-57), keeping them alone in first place at the top of the division.

Kershaw provided the foundation of Tuesday’s victory.

The left -hander launched four days of rest for the third time this season (more than anyone in the team), so that Shohei Ohtani could be aligned to start a day off on Wednesday. And very early on, the Reds (68-65) tagged him with a quick race after Spencer, Speer, started with a double and then scored on the Miguel andújar field.

Starting with this group, however, Kershaw retired the last 14 strikers he faced. Six came back, marking his second total stick withdrawals this season. And bullets involved, only four were “hard” (with an output speed greater than 95 MPH). Not one left the bat over 100 mph.

It was the latest example of the new recipe for the success of the 37-year-old left-hander: again striking his spots with a quick ball of 88 mi / h, based strongly on a cursor which generated five puffs and four withdrawals, and by mixing its brand curve and an all-terrain sports coup to keep a range of completely straight discounts.

Given the small number of sheds, Kershaw could have exceeded the fifth. He and the manager Dave Roberts seemed to have a brief conversation in the canoe before shaking his hand, a sign that his night was over. But between his rapid reversal (depending on modern times, at least) a reversal of four days, and the careful management of the team of his workload overall this season, the five rounds of Kershaw were numerous.

In the season, Kershaw has a 9-2 sheet with a 3.06 MPM, third of the best Dodgers starters this year. He also finished in August with an MPM of 1.88 in five starts, third best among the starters of the National League for the month.

While Kershaw sailed, the Dodgers offensive also found a groove.

They erased the 1-0 deficit at the beginning of the first, when Mookie Betts A Markets, Freddie Freeman doubled and Betts scored on an error to launch by the left field player of the Austin Hays Reds.

They took an advance of 2-1 in the fourth, after a double head of Teuscar Hernández, a single in the inner field of Michael Comforto on a hot return which torn the glove right next to the launcher of the Reds Nick Martinez, and a sacrifice fly of Kiké Hernández (who returned to the line for the first time since the beginning of July after his release).

Then, in the sixth, they opened the match with a four -point rally.

Will Smith turned around a quick cutting ball in the center for an opposite field home run, a positive sign for the relevant receiver who entered the night with an average of the stick of 0.150 in August and a single long ball during his previous 25 games.

Miguel Rojas came out of the bench for a double of two points later in the Channel, smoking a Flyball at Deep Center which made Christmas Tour Noelvi Marte (which made its first start of MLB in the middle of the outside field) on the warning track.

Ohtani followed this with a simple RBI on the right, helping him to break a slippage of one for 16.

The only bad news for Dodgers on Tuesday came, when the left -handed lift Alex Vesia was placed on the injured list with a right oblique tension. The severity of his injury was not immediately known.

But even without him, the Dodgers enclosure has largely covered with Kershaw relief. Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott, both revenue from the IL, launched non -goal sleeves in the eighth and ninth (giving Scott his first stop since his return). And although Hays hit a two -point circuit in the seventh off the coast of Ben Casparius, it did not do for Tuesday to feel more than a end of season cake – even in the middle of a crazy race in the closing section of the season.

Sasaki’s last start of rehabilitation

In Triple-A Oklahoma City, the recruit launcher Roki Sasaki made the third start of his stay of rehabilitation of the minor leagues, abandoning three points in 3 rounds on five strokes, two walks and four sticks to the stick. The most encouraging point to remember of the exit was Sasaki’s rapid ball speed, which has on average 96 MPH for a second consecutive outing and completed 98.8 MPH – the hardest he threw in his recovery from a shoulder injury. Sasaki should make at least one rehabilitation before being ready to be activated.