Clayton Kershaw threw a two-hitter, fanning seven batters over eight scoreless innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers shut down the Angels 3-1 on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
It was the Dodgers fifth consecutive victory over the Angels in the Freeway Series rivalry, and the Halos fifth straight loss overall, tying a season high losing streak.
Like a good Drake diss, the Dodgers and Angels went back-to-back with marquee pitching matchups.
Saturday's duel featured the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw against Angels undefeated rookie Andrew Heaney.
Kershaw (9-6) outdueled the youngster and extended his scoreless streak to 37 consecutive innings. Kershaw became the first player in MLB history to have two scoreless innings streaks of 35+ in consecutive seasons.
"What did Zack [Greinke] say when you used to ask him about the streak?" Kershaw asked the media when questioned about the streak. "He didn't think about it," they replied. "There you go," Kershaw laughed.
Heaney (5-1) suffered his first loss of the season, snapping his five game winning streak. Heaney allowed two runs on four hits in just 5.1 innings, his shortest start of the year. The 24-year-old entered the game 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA, and a 1.30 ERA in day games. The Halos were a perfect 6-0 in game's Heaney had started before today.
Heaney was with the Dodgers for a New York minute this winter when he was acquired by Los Angeles for Dee Gordon and Dan Haren. Heaney however, was immediately flipped to the Angels for second baseman Howie Kendrick.
Kendrick beat his former team with the bat on Friday and with glove on Saturday. Kendrick made multiple web gems in the field including a diving stop in the second inning to rob Erick Aybar of a base hit and keep Kershaw's scoreless streak intact.
The game also gave fans the much-anticipated duel between reigning MVPs. Kershaw, the 2014 NL MVP versus Mike Trout, the 2014 AL MVP. Kershaw struck out Trout on a filthy curveball in the first inning, the first time an MVP pitcher faced an opposing MVP at the plate in MLB history.
"He's a great hitter, probably the best hitter in the game," Kershaw said of Trout. "He's an unbelievable hitter and I'm just trying to get him out."
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Trout finished 0-for-3 and was robbed of a base hit in the top of the seventh inning by Yasiel Puig who made a magnificent diving catch in right field.
Scott Van Slyke knocked in the game's first run in the sixth inning with a sac fly to the warning track in left field that scored Kendrick.
Yasmani Grandal continued his hot-hitting summer as he blasted a two-run bomb to dead center off reliever Fernando Salas. It was Grandal's 15th homer of the season, tied for the most in his career.
"If I would have got more playing time last year, I think I would have gotten to 15 home runs easier," Grandal said about tying his career mark. "It showed once I started playing every day here in LA, my power numbers have gone up."
Grandal went 3-for-4, his second consecutive three-hit game. The Cuban catcher has four doubles, five homers, and 15 RBI to go with his .385 batting average since June 29th.
Kershaw came out of the dugout on to the mound for the start of the ninth inning, but exited the game to a standing ovation before making a single pitch.
Kenely Jansen allowed a run, but earned his 19th save, striking out Trout in a rematch of last night, when the Halos slugger homered to center off the closer.
Game Notes:
Angels' manager Mike Scioscia was ejected from the game in the second inning for arguing balls and strikes by home plate umpire Chris Segal.
52,979 fans came out on a hot Saturday summer day.
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