Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Dodgers (9/3/20) — Final: LAD 5, ARI 1

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Dodgers win! Brooms out!

The Los Angeles Dodgers ride a magnificent Clayton Kershaw to a 5-1 victory, taking all 3 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. A punch-out ended a two strike-out opening frame for Kershaw, who pounded the zone and grabbed control quickly. Luke Weaver got Mookie Betts to line-out before singles by Corey Seager and Max Muncy gave LA an opportunity early. Cody Bellinger hit a chopper to 1st base where Christian Walker played the ball, stepped on 1st, and then threw wild attempting to end the inning with a play at 2nd. This allowed Seager to score, and Chris Taylor’s knock two pitches later brought home Muncy, putting the Dodgers in front 2-0. Kershaw walked the leadoff batter in the second but battled back with a soft ground-out and a pair of strike-outs. Weaver pitched a perfect frame to end the inning, and Kershaw did the same to start the third. Weaver and Kershaw traded 1-2-3 halves again in the fourth, but Nick Ahmed walked on 4 pitches to begin the fifth. After getting an out, Kershaw hit Andy Young, giving Arizona their first chance with a runner in scoring position. The 3-time Cy Young Award winner calmly maneuvered the jam, and was able to escape unscathed. Weaver struck-out Matt Beaty and Austin Barnes in a quiet LA frame. Kershaw, still holding the D-Backs hitless, got the first two outs of the sixth on just 4 pitches. On 3-2, Walker reached on an infield single to break up the no-no. Kershaw’s 99th pitch of the game was a fastball that got David Peralta to ground-out, ending the top half. Aside from two mishaps in the fifth, Kershaw was sharp, elegant, and smooth in his nearly perfect outing, and earned his 2,500th career strike-out — becoming the 3rd youngest in history to reach the milestone. His final line displayed his dominance: 6IP, 0ER, 1H, 2BB, 8K and the W. After a single from Seager and a Muncy walk, the Dodgers stranded potential insurance runs on 1st and 2nd. Dylan Floro entered for the 7th and walked Ahmed before allowing a single to Josh Rojas. He traded a run for an out, getting a ground-ball that allowed Arizona to get on the board, 2-1. Floro made some quality pitches to strand the tying run and get the final outs. AJ Pollock, pinch-hitting for Joc Pederson, attacked the first pitch he saw and crushed a solo home run to dead center field that put LA ahead 3-1. Kiké Hernàndez soon after singled and advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch. With 2-outs, Betts sharply singled up the middle to score him and make it 4-1. Seager subsequently reached on a blooper and Muncy was given a free pass to 1st, loading the bases for Bellinger. He lined out, and the first two D-Backs reached against Blake Trienen in the eighth. He was erratic but managed to to contain his struggles, getting harmless contact to escape the trouble. Taylor doubled to leadoff the home half and Beaty singled to put runners at the corners. Hernández lined an RBI base-hit that extended the lead to 5-1 before the inning came to an end. Besides a 1-out double, Jake McGee struck-out the side in the ninth, ending the ballgame.

The boys in blue sweep Arizona at Dodger Stadium and improve to 29-10. Tomorrow, they’ll open a 3-game set with the Colorado Rockies who they swept just two weeks ago. Dustin May, 1-1 with a 2.83 ERA, looks to gain some sort of a boost to strengthen his shot at winning NL Rookie of the Year. Antonio Senzatela, 3-1 with an ERA of 2.83, has been the ace of the staff for Colorado, and he will start for them. It will be an entertaining weekend series with some blistering SoCal heat. 6:40pm start. Go Dodgers!