Instead of fireworks, there were fire-whiffs.
Clayton Kershaw struck out 11 batters, Justin Turner homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-3, on Fourth of July at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw (13-2) had a no-hitter entering the seventh inning before he allowed an infield single to Chris Ownings that spoiled the no-hit bid.
"I think I made Doc's [Dave Robert's] job a little bit easier by giving up a hit so he didn't have to worry about leaving me in or not," joked Kershaw about giving up the infield single. "After the seventh inning you start thinking about it though."
Owings made soft contact on a groundball to second base, and first baseman Cody Bellinger found himself out of position as Kershaw was half a step late covering the bag, allowing Owings to reach base safely.
"Honestly, I was thinking maybe get two guys out and give up a flare," joked Roberts of the no-hitter ending. "You always want the best for the player. Reality setting in and what's best for Clayton, getting to 130 pitches doesn't make sense for anyone. So after the inning, there was a little bit of a sigh of relief from me."
Other than that, Kershaw was virtually unhittable as the seven-time All Star struck out 11 with two walks in seven shutout innings for his MLB-leading 13th victory of the season.
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Kershaw has not lost a game in 12 consecutive starts and is 9-0 with a 1.98 ERA since May 6th. He has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts, totaling 20 innings.
"You guys kept telling me I was giving up too many homers so I tried to stop doing that," Kershaw joked about how he's pitched since surrendering a career-high four homers against the Mets. "That's a great win. That's a team right behind us."
Justin Turner continued to state his case to make the National League All-Star Game roster as he went 2-for-4 with a 390-foot single and a 405-foot homer to dead-center in the third inning.
"I was hoping it got over his head, but it hit off the wall and went right to him," said Turner of his very long single. "The goal is to do things to help your team win. So it's pretty fun."
Turner is expected to have the highest batting average at the All-Star break in Dodgers history, and is currently batting .384 on the season.
Fans can still vote Turner into the All Star Game in Miami next Wednesday as Turner is a finalist for the MLB Final Vote contest. Fans can text "N5" to 89269 or go online and vote at MLB.com.
"The fans have been awesome," said Turner of the voting. "I appreciate the support. We'll take care of the baseball stuff on the field and let them [the fans] do their thing. Hopefully, it will be enough to get to Miami."
Yasmani Grandal knocked in Chris Taylor with an RBI single shortly after Turner's homer as the Dodgers' catcher finished the day, 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
Patrick Corbin (6-8) allowed three runs on seven hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in 4 and 2/3 innings.
All four of the Dodgers' All-Stars played in the game as Kershaw started, Turner (hopefully) homered, Cody Bellinger had a hit, Corey Seager played great defense and Kenley Jansen earned his 19th save of the season by recording the final two outs of the game.
Daniel Descalso hit a three-run homer off Jansen with two outs and the Diamondbacks down to their final pitch.
"Luckily, it happened in that situation, and not bases loaded," said Jansen of the home run to Descalso. "You're going to give up some runs, sometimes they're good and you have to tip your cap. So today, I'm tipping my cap to Descalso. He put a good swing on it and got me, and tomorrow I'm going to go out there and try and get him. That's how the game goes."
Daniel Descalso belts a three-run homer to right field off Kenley Jansen, bringing the D-backs within one in the top of the 9th inning!!! pic.twitter.com/R1wUi4O5ei— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) July 5, 2017
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks (108-61) have combined for the third highest winning percentage by two teams in the same division since the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates were 93-51 on Fourth of July in 1976.
Los Angeles extended their lead in the NL West to 3.5 games over Arizona and regardless of how the series ends, guarantee themselves to remain in first place heading into their weekend series with the Kansas City Royals.
Up Next:
The Dodgers will look to put more space between themselves and the Snakes for first place in the National League West as RHP Zack Godley squares off with LHP Alex Wood on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM PST.
