Kershaw Pitches Dodgers To 5-2 Win Over White Sox
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Clayton Kershaw shrugged off a two-run homer by Jose Abreu in the rookie's return from the disabled list, pitching the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Chicago White Sox 5-2 Monday night for his first home win of the season.
Justin Turner's two-run single keyed a five-run sixth inning in which all the Dodgers' runs were unearned.
Kershaw (4-2) allowed four hits over eight innings, striking out nine and walking none. Kenley Jansen got three outs for his 17th save.
Jose Quintana (3-5) gave up six hits through six innings and was charged with all five unearned runs.
The Dodgers parlayed two infield errors, four singles and a walk into the five-run rally that put them ahead 5-2. All the runs came with two outs.
Kershaw led off with a single and Matt Kemp reached on one-out grounder that went under second baseman Gordon Beckham's glove for an error with the infield overshifted to the left side.
Yasiel Puig struck out on a high fastball and slammed his bat in frustration, but the Dodgers got a break when third baseman Conor Gillaspie fielded Hanley Ramirez's grounder behind the bag and bounced his throw past first base as Kershaw scored.
Adrian Gonzalez drove in Kemp with an infield hit, and Quintana gave up a two-run single to Turner and an RBI single to Drew Butera after a walk to Scott Van Slyke.
Kershaw needed only 12 pitches to get through the first two innings and retired his first 10 batters before Beckham singled and Abreu followed with his 16th homer. The Cuban slugger was leading the majors in homers and ranked second in RBIs with 42 before missing 14 games with tendinitis in his left ankle. The White Sox were 8-6 in his absence.
The only other baserunner the White Sox had against the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner through the first six innings was Moises Sierra, who hit a dribbler to the right of the mound and beat Kershaw's throw to first base with two outs in the fifth. The left-hander, who led the majors in ERA each of the previous three seasons, made only 66 pitches through six.
The White Sox began a stretch of six consecutive games in the Los Angeles area, including a series against the Angels about 35 miles down the freeway in Anaheim.
Kershaw's outing marked his longest of the season, tying his season-high with nine strikeouts for the fifth time. The reigning NL Cy Young winner now has 55 strikeouts against just seven walks.
Meanwhile, Puig, reaching base on an error in the seventh inning, extended his streak to 34 consecutive games of reaching base safely.
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