Los Angeles

Chris Heisey's Slam Saves Clayton Kershaw in Dodgers 6-3 Victory Over Diamondbacks

Clayton Kershaw made his shortest appearance in over a year, but still picked up the win thanks to a fifth inning grand slam by Chris Heisey and the Dodgers rallied to defeat the Diamondbacks 6-3 on Thursday afternoon at Chavez Ravine.

Clayton Kershaw made his shortest start of the season, but still picked up the win thanks to a fifth inning grand slam by Chris Heisey and the Dodgers rallied to defeat the Diamondbacks 6-3 on Thursday afternoon at Chavez Ravine.

With the Dodgers trailing 3-2, Heisey hit a grand salami with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning off Andrew Chacin for his first homer in a Dodger uniform. It was Heisey's second career grand slam, his first coming on April 13, 2014 versus the Tampa Bay Rays when he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

"It's special," Heisey said of his heroic home run. "To help the team get a big win and to end the series on a positive note. It was nice to finally be able to help the team get a win."

The big blast by Heisey could not have come at a better time as the Dodgers were trailing 3-0 entering the inning and Kershaw, who was removed from the game for a pinch-hitter six batters earlier, was fuming in the dugout. 

Kershaw (15-7) was shown on television visibly upset with Dodgers manager Don Mattingly for taking him out of the game after just 80 pitches. It was Kershaw's shortest outing since June 8, 2014. However, his 220 innings pitched are the most since 2004.

"I don't want to talk about that at all," a frustrated Kershaw said after the game. "They can make up whatever they want. It's between Donny and I, nobody needs to know."

Kershaw's streaks of 31 consecutive quality starts at home, the longest in the Major Leagues since 1912, and his 23 consecutive starts with at least 6 innings pitched, five strikeouts and four or fewer runs allowed (tied for longest since 1900), were snapped.

In Mattingly's defense, Kershaw did not look as sharp as usual in the rare afternoon start at Dodger Stadium. Temperatures reached in the high 90s during game time, and the ball seemed to be flying out of the ballpark.

"Kershaw never wants to come out," Mattingly said of the altercation. "For me, we were trying to score. He said he got a hit the last time up and could stay in the game. That's as animated as I've ever seen him, but that competitive nature never bothers me."

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Kershaw allowed three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts in just five innings, but still earned his 15th victory on the season as he was still the pitcher of record when Heisey hit his grand slam.

"My curveball was terrible," Kershaw said. "I need to go back to the drawing board. They swung the bats well against me. Two-strike hits will kill you and that's what happened today. Heisey's swing of the bat was unbelievable. I'm thankful, honestly."

Paul Goldschmidt continued to do damage to Kershaw and the Dodgers. The NL MVP candidate went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, but did not homer, snapping his streak of consecutive home runs at Dodger Stadium at four.

Goldschmidt ends his season against the Dodgers with a .397 batting average, six doubles, eight homers, and 19 RBIs in 19 games. Since Goldschmidt's MLB debut in 2011, he leads the big leagues with 21 homers and 63 RBIs against the Dodgers.

Patrick Corbin (6-5) took the loss for the D-backs despite throwing four shutout innings to start the game. Corbin was credited with two of the four Dodgers runs that crossed the plate on Heisey's grand slam, allowing four runs on five hits in 4.1 innings in total.

Diamondbacks' rookie Brandon Drury hit a solo shot off Kershaw in the fourth inning, his second, but most memorable home run of his career. Both of Drury's homers since he was called up have been against the Dodgers.

Howie Kendrick started at second base giving Chase Utley an off day. Kendrick hit a two-run single that started the rally in the fifth inning.

"I was really pumped for Heisey's grand slam, but I'm having a blast," Kendrick said of the six-run fifth inning rally. "This is what we play for, this is what's exciting, this is fun."

Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth for the second consecutive day, earning his 34th save of the season.

With the victory, the Los Angeles Dodgers magic number to clinch their thid consecutive NL West Division title drops to four, with the Giants still left to play in San Diego later tonight.

Game Notes:
The Dodgers split the four-game series with Arizona and finish with a 13-6 (8-2 at home) record against them on the season.

Clayton Kershaw's MLB-leading 281 strikeouts are the fourth highest in franchise history and since the turn of the century, only Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez have more.

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