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Joc Pederson and Justin Turner Go Deep as Dodgers Down Blue Jays 6-2

Joc Pederson and Justin Turner both homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Rogers Centre.

LOS ANGELES – Joc Pederson and Justin Turner both homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Rogers Centre.

The game featured a battle of opposing Cy Young Award winners as three-time winner Clayton Kershaw pitched opposite 2012 winner R.A. Dickey. If not for Dickey, Kershaw would have had four consecutive Cy Young Awards as he finished second in the voting behind the knuckleballer.

Pederson got the Dodgers on the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning when he took the knuckleballer to deep center for his fifth home run of the season. 

"You have no idea where it's going. It can go up or down or straight sometimes," Pederson told the media of the knuckleball. "I was trying to have fun with it, 'swat the butterfuly,' it was definitely dancing out there."

The Blue Jays countered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning when former Dodger, Darwin Barney, hit a two-out single to right field off Kershaw to tie the game.

The Dodgers opened up the game in the top half of the third after a passed ball gave the Dodgers the lead. One pitch later, Adrian Gonzalez got a high knuckleball that he sent up the middle to score two, and L.A. had a 4-1 lead.

"I told the guys to treat the knuckleball like a curveball and make sure it's up," Gonzalez told Alanna Rizzo of SportsNetLA on facing Dickey. "I was able to get a hit on a high knuckleball."

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Toronto tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth when Barney scored on a two-out double by Kevin Pillar. Kershaw kept his focus though, striking out reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson to end the inning.

Kershaw kept the Blue Jays at bay from there, and Turner would add an insurance run with a solo home run in the top of the eighth. 

"I was able to get some outs when I needed to. I got four runs and tried to hold off Dickey," Kershaw told reporters after the game. "It was a weird day for me overall, but I'll take it."

Kershaw (4-1) collected his fourth win of the season allowing two runs on eight hits with 10 strikeouts in seven innings. It was Kershaw's fourth consecutive game with double-digit strikeouts and his ERA jumped to over two (2.04) for the first time this season.

"Today was a good formula. We got runs early, were able to get it to Petey [Pedro Baez] and Kenley [Jansen] and that's a typical good fame for us," Kershaw said. "We just need to start repeating this performance."

Dickey (1-4) took the loss, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits with three strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Closer, Kenley Jansen, worked the ninth inning in a no-save situation.

Players of the Game:

Justin Turner: Home run and two runs scored.
Adrian Gonzalez: 2-for-4 with two RBI
Clayton Kershaw: 2 runs, on 8 hits with 10 strikeouts in 7IP.

Three Takeaways:

1. Not So New Territory For Kershaw:
Saturday marked the first time in his career that Clayton Kershaw faced the Toronto Blue Jays and pitched on the mound at the Rogers Centre. Despite the new terrain, Kershaw was comfortable taking the mound after a Dodgers loss for the 121st time in his career. Like he did last Sunday, the 2014 MVP snapped another L.A. losing streak, improving to 55-25 after the team loses.

2. The Bronze Glover: Former Gold Glove Award winner and Dodger, Darwin Barney, uncharacteristically committed two errors on Saturday. Barney who had an RBI and a run scored, was barking at the Dodgers' dugout throughout the game. Can you say karma?

3. "K" for Kershaw: Clayton Kershaw struck out 10 batters on Saturday, the fourth consecutive game this season he has recorded double-digit strikeouts. Accoring to Elias Sports, Kershaw is just the second pitcher in the modern era with 10+ punchouts and one walk or less in four consecutive games since Stephen Strasburg did it for the Washington Nationals last season.

Up Next:

Dodgers (15-15): Rookie Ross Stripling takes the mound on Mother's Day in the final game of the road trip as he searches for his first career win.

Blue Jays (16-16): Toronto counters with Marco Estrada as first pitch is scheduled for 10:07 AM PST.

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