Clayton Kershaw Stops the Losing Streak as Dodgers Defeat Giants, 5-3

Here he comes to save the day.
That means Clayton Kershaw is on his way.
When there is a wrong to right, Kershaw will join the fight.

Clayton Kershaw was on the mound the last time the Dodgers won a game.

It was only fitting he would be on the mound again, 12 days later, to snap the team's franchise longest losing streak.

Kershaw allowed just one earned run in six innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped their season-high 11-game losing streak, 5-3, on Tuesday night at AT&T Park.

Every time the three-time Cy Young Award winner takes the mound, the Dodgers players and coaches are confident that the team will get the victory.

"It's tough to beat the best pitcher in baseball," said second baseman Chase Utley before the game. 

Los Angeles left seven runners on base in the first three innings as that confidence started to wane in the early going.

San Francisco struck first with a solo shot from Kelby Tomlinson off Kershaw in the bottom of the third inning.

First home run of the season and it's off of Clayton Kershaw.

Not bad �� pic.twitter.com/duMz2pYbc4— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 13, 2017

Not only was the homer, Tomlinson's first off Kershaw, it was his first home run since October 3, 2015, a span of 324 plate appearances.

But before the fans could say "Here we go again," Chase Utley tied the game in the top of the fourth as he hit the fourth "Splash Hit" in Dodgers franchise history when he took Johnny Cueto deep to start the inning.

The Dodgers were not one and done, as they tacked on three more runs in the inning, thanks to doubles by Kershaw and Yasiel Puig as the Boys in Blue chased Cueto from the game with a four-run fourth inning.

"It was a full team effort tonight," said Kershaw following the win. "We needed everybody to get a win tonight, and that's what we needed. We need everybody."

Cueto (7-8) allowed four runs on six hits with four walks and eight strikeouts in just 3 and 2/3 innings for San Francisco.

The Giants tacked on an unearned run in bottom of the sixth when they scored following an error by third baseman Justin Turner.

San Francisco would get within a run in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff double by Denard Span and a single by Joe Panik, but Ross Stripling got Buster Posey to ground into a double play to end the inning. 

"We certainly made it interesting tonight," Roberts said of the game. "That wasn't ideal for us, but Kershaw picked us up big time. There's a lot of relief in that clubhouse."

Kershaw (17-3) surrendered just two runs (one earned) on eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts in six strong innings for the Dodgers.

"It's weird for this game to have the significance that it did for us," said Kershaw. "There's more of a sense of relief now that we've got a win. Every time the losses keep mounting and mounting it gets even harder to win a game."

Kenley Jansen entered the game for a four-out save in the eighth to earn his 37^th save of the season.

It was Jansen's first four-out save since July 17th. 

"We wanted to stop the bleeding," Jansen said after the game. "Now that we've got the win, it's time for us to keep rolling now."

In their last 18 games, the Dodgers are 2-1 when Kershaw starts and 0-15 when anyone else starts.

"This was a good thing for us," Jansen said of the losing streak. It keeps us humble and keeps us in check. It shows you that this game is not always going to love you."

Overall, Los Angeles is 21-3 when Kershaw takes the mound this season, one of the highest winning percentages in a pitcher's start since the 1995 Seattle Mariners went 27-3 when Randy Johnson started. 

Tuesday marked the 40^th career game for Kershaw against the rival Giants, and the 2014 MVP is 21-9 with a 1.62 ERA over that span.

According to STATS LLC., Kershaw's ERA is the second lowest in the live-ball era against any opponent, behind only Dodger legend Sandy Koufax, who had a 1.44 career ERA against the New York Mets.

With the win, the Dodgers clinched at least a share of the second wild card spot and therefore a postseason birth.

"We want to win the division," added Kershaw. "We want home field advantage. We want home field advantage throughout the World Series."

Their Magic Number to clinch their fifth consecutive National League West title is down to eight.

Up Next:

Yu Darvish will look to get back to his old winning ways as he enters the Dodgers-Giants rivalry for the first time. Darvish will square off against LHP Matt Moore for San Francisco with first pitch scheduled for 7:15PM PST.