outfielder

Clayton Kershaw Allows First Ever Grand Slam as Phillies Rally Past Dodgers, 4-3

Chris Taylor hit an inside-the-park home run to start the game, but Clayton Kershaw surrendered a grand slam late, as the Philadelphia Phillies upset the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3, on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.

It's not how you start, it's how you finish.

Chris Taylor hit an inside-the-park home run to start the game, but Clayton Kershaw surrendered a grand slam late, as the Philadelphia Phillies upset the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3, on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. 

Taylor broke out of his most recent 0-for-15 slump with a little bit of luck from the outfielder guard rail as he hammered the second pitch of the game off the rail in left-center and the ball ricocheted into left field and away from two Phillies outfielders allowing CT3 to easily run around the bases for a leadoff, stand-up, inside-the-park home run.

Taylor rounded the bases in a speedy 15.40 seconds, the third fastest trip around the bases this season. The inside-the-park home run was also the first for the Dodgers since Aug. 20, 2011 at Coors Field when Trent Oeltjen did it for the Boys in Blue.

To come full circle, according to ESPN Stats and Info, it was the first leadoff inside the park home run for the Dodgers since current manager Dave Roberts did it on Aug. 9, 2003.

The creative home run was also Taylor's 20th of the season, making him the fifth Dodger with 20 or more home runs this season.

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Five different players ties the franchise record set in 1979 and 2000, and the current team could break the record if Yasmani Grandal goes deep one more time before season's end as the catcher is currently stuck on 19 long balls this season.

The Dodgers went back-to-back in the first inning as third baseman Justin Turner crushed a curveball from Nick Pivetta three pitches later to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead.

"We got ahead early, but those guys hung in there and got the big hit when they needed it," Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game. "It was a surprise to all of us. He [Kershaw] usually finds a way to make that pitch to get out of the inning."

Kershaw cruised through the first five innings of the game before he ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth.

"I thought he pitched really well tonight," continued Roberts. "In that sixth inning, that leadoff walk got him, and then another walk."

Kershaw uncharacteristically walked a pair of Phillies hitters around a single by Freddy Galvis and was just one pitch away from getting out of the inning unscathed.

"Obviously we were being careful with Hoskins," said catcher Austin Barnes of the walk to Rhys Hoskins that loaded the bases. "He [Kershaw] left it over the plate and he [Altherr] made us upay for it."

Unfortunately, that pitch was not what he wanted as he hung a slider over the heart of the plate to Aaron Altherr and the Phillies' left-fielder hit a game-winning grand slam off the three-time Cy Young Award winner.

"It was just a bad slider," said a visibly frustrated Kershaw after the game. "I made some bad pitches. I probably should have pitched better."

It was the first grand slam allowed in Kershaw's career, and the one mistake was all it took for Kershaw (17-4) to get the loss, allowing all four runs to come on one pitch, scattering four hits with two walks (both in the 6th inning) with six strikeouts in six innings.

"We had the lead and I blew it and we lost," Kershaw said matter-of-factly. "Need to go back to the drawing board and get ready for the next one."

Despite allowing two home runs to the first two batters of the game, Pivetta (6-10), got the win, beating Kershaw by allowing just two runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in six innings.

Curtis Granderson broke out of a bad slump with a solo home run in the top of the ninth for his 24th home run of the season. All three Dodger runs came on solo home runs.

Hector Neris gave up the homer to Granderson, but struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 22nd save of the season.

The Dodgers Magic Number remains at four, but could be lowered if the Arizona Diamondbacks lose to the San Diego Padres later in the evening. 

Up Next:

Yu Darvish takes the mound on Tuesday opposite RHP Aaron Nola in the second game of a four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05PM PST.

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