LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw’s first home win of the season was a perfect example of how the two-time Cy Young Award winner has made a living out of pitching through early adversity and getting stronger as the game goes along.
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw’s first home win of the season was a perfect example of how the two-time Cy Young Award winner has made a living out of pitching through early adversity and getting stronger as the game goes along.
Kershaw shrugged off a two-run homer by Jose Abreu in the rookie’s return from the disabled list, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 Monday night.
“It was one pitch. That’s all it was tonight. One pitch. But he was great all the way to his last one,” Dodgers catcher Drew Butera said.
Kershaw (4-2) allowed four hits over eight innings, striking out nine and walking none. Kenley Jansen got three outs for his 17th save.
“I think Kershaw just continues to fight no matter what. If they get him once, he’s going to keep it right there,” Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. “He’s not happy about the home run, but he’s able to put it behind him and keep going. That’s the sign of a guy with a short memory. The great ones don’t worry about the past. They just know what they’ve got to do going forward.”
Justin Turner’s two-run single keyed a five-run sixth inning in which all the Dodgers’ runs were unearned.
“That’s how you win games. You take advantage of one little mistake, and a lot of times it ends up rolling into a big inning,” outfielder Scott Van Slyke said. “Good teams do that. When they get the opportunity, they take advantage.”
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. 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.
“He had a chance to get the force at third, but that’s an error and that’s part of it,” Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. “Q pitched a great game, going inning for inning with Kershaw, and he deserved a better fate. There’s no two ways about it. But when you don’t play defense, and give a team like that opportunities, you leave that little crack in the door. And they kicked it wide open.”
Adrian Gonzalez drove in Kemp with an infield hit, and Quintana gave up a two-run single to Turner and an RBI single to Butera after a walk to Van Slyke.
“It’s always fun to get hits, and it’s always fun when you’re part of the run-scoring,” Kershaw said. “Sometimes with us, it takes a couple times to get through the lineup. I knew if I just kind of kept us in the game, gave us a chance, we were going to break out.”
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.
“It was nice, coming against a guy like Kershaw,” Ventura said. “It didn’t seem like he missed too much of a beat. When we have that guy swinging the bat good, we’re a better offense.”
The only other baserunner the White Sox had against Kershaw through the first six innings was Moises Sierra, who hit a dribbler to the right of the mound and beat the left-hander’s throw to first base with two outs in the fifth.
Kershaw, who led the majors in ERA each of the previous three seasons, made only 66 pitches through six.
“I was throwing strikes. They were swinging and my pitch count was low those first four, five innings,” Kershaw said. “They’ve got some aggressive guys over there. It doesn’t really bother me as long as I make my pitches early.”
INDIANS 3, RED SOX 2
CLEVELAND — Justin Masterson found the strike zone after a rocky start and pitched seven scoreless innings as the Cleveland Indians ended Boston’s seven-game winning streak.
Masterson (3-4) walked four in the first three innings, but settled in and won for the first time in five starts. He allowed just three singles and struck out a season-high 10.
Lonnie Chisenhall hit a two-run single in the first off John Lackey (6-4) as the Indians won their fourth straight.
Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer in the Boston eighth off Bryan Shaw. Cody Allen worked the ninth for his fourth save.
Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew went 0 for 2 with a walk in his season debut. He re-signed as a free agent last month.
Boston outfielder Grady Sizemore went 0 for 4 — he popped up for the final out — in his return to Cleveland. He was a three-time All-Star in nearly eight seasons with the Indians.
MARINERS 10, YANKEES 2
NEW YORK — Kyle Seager homered, tripled twice and doubled, leading Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners past the New York Yankees.
Hernandez (8-1) tied a career high by winning his fifth straight start.
Robinson Cano again got booed by Yankees fans in this makeup of an April 30 rainout. Out four games with a bruised left hand, the former Yankees star was 1 for 3 with two walks. He drew a mocking cheer when he was picked off by David Phelps (1-3).
Seattle won its third in a row.
Seager became the first major leaguer to hit two triples and at least one homer and one double since Hal Breeden for Montreal in 1973, STATS said.
METS 11, PHILLIES 2
PHILADELPHIA — Wilmer Flores hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs, Bartolo Colon threw seven-plus sharp innings and New York beat Philadelphia in a makeup from an April rainout.
After playing 39 innings in the three previous games, the teams finally didn’t go extras. The Mets took four of five from the Phillies and are 9-1 in Citizens Bank Park, dating to last season.
Colon (5-5) allowed two runs and six hits to win his third straight decision. The 41-year-old righty has a 1.61 ERA in his last three outings.
The last-place Phillies went 4-7 on an 11-game homestand, their longest of the season. They’re a season-worst seven games under .500 and barely resemble the team that won five consecutive NL East titles from 2007-11.
Roberto Hernandez (2-3) failed to pitch six innings for the sixth time in 10 starts.
PIRATES 10, PADRES 3
SAN DIEGO — Jordy Mercer homered and matched a career high with four of Pittsburgh’s 16 hits in a romp over San Diego.
Neil Walker added three hits and three RBIs, and Josh Harrison also had three hits to help the Pirates win for the ninth time in 13 games.
Charlie Morton (2-7) tied a career best with nine strikeouts in five innings. He allowed two runs in winning for the first time in five road starts this year.
Three relievers finished the five-hitter after 4 hours, 4 minutes — the longest nine-inning game in Padres history.
Mercer scored four times from the No. 8 spot in the batting order and went 4 for 5 to raise his average 20 points to .219. He entered with one home run and seven RBIs in 146 at-bats.
Tim Stauffer (2-2) lasted only 2 2-3 innings, his second consecutive disappointing start since being inserted into the rotation because of elbow injuries to Andrew Cashner and Robbie Erlin.
BREWERS 6, TWINS 2
MILWAUKEE — Matt Garza took a shutout into the seventh inning and Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer, sending Milwaukee past Minnesota.
Garza (3-4) scattered six hits over 6 1-3 scoreless innings against the team that brought him to the big leagues in 2006. The right-hander, signed to a $50 million, four-year deal as a free agent in the offseason, struck out eight and walked two for his first win since May 5.
Jonathan Lucroy homered and hit an RBI single.
Kyle Gibson (4-5) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings. He has won just one of his last eight starts after winning his first three.
ROYALS 6, CARDINALS 0
ST. LOUIS — Danny Duffy worked six innings of one-hit ball and Alex Gordon homered to start a three-run seventh for Kansas City in a victory over suddenly punchless St. Louis.
The Royals had just two singles off Shelby Miller (6-5) in a scoreless game before they opened the seventh with four straight hits. Gordon’s fifth homer ended a 15-inning scoreless drought and Mike Moustakas capped the rally with a two-run double.
Matt Holliday had two singles and a walk for the Cardinals, who have been shut out in consecutive games.
Duffy (3-5) struck out five and walked one, rebounding from consecutive losses in which he allowed 10 earned runs in 10 innings. Three relievers completed a three-hitter.
MARLINS 3, RAYS 1
MIAMI — Randy Wolf pitched six innings for his first victory since 2012, and Miami handed Tampa Bay its seventh consecutive loss.
The 37-year-old Wolf (1-1), making a comeback from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, allowed three hits and one run. He struck out seven, walked one and won for the first time since he pitched Baltimore past Tampa Bay on Sept. 13, 2012.
The Rays fell to 0-7 on their eight-game trip. They’re 12 games below .500 for the first time since 2007, and their record (23-35) is the worst in the American League.
Four Miami relievers completed the six-hitter, and Steve Cishek pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances. The Marlins snapped a streak of four consecutive home losses as they started a four-game home-and-home series against their intrastate rivals.
The Rays went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. They’ve scored six runs in their past five games.
Alex Cobb (1-3) paid dearly for a rocky start. The Marlins scored three times in the first, when their first four batters reached. Casey McGehee hit a two-run single, and a bases-loaded double play scored another run.