Photo Credit: Los Angeles Dodgers
POST-GAME BRIEFING
The Dodgers had everything working for them tonight against the Mariners; they were in total control both offensively and defensively. Dodgers bats were certainly alive, but the team didn’t rely as much on the home run ball as they have in recent days: three runs came from singles, one from a throwing error, and another from a wild pitch.
Clayton Kershaw pitched with razor-like precision tonight, striking out 11 (the fifth vaulted him past Don Drysdale for sole second place on the Dodgers all-time strikeout leaderboard). Now at 2,493 Ks, Kershaw trails only Don Sutton (2696 Ks) for the all-time Dodgers lead.
Tonight's start is Clayton Kershaw's 26th career start with 11+ strikeouts while allowing one run or less, tying Bob Gibson with the 8th most such games in MLB history.#Dodgers
— Arrick Joel (@ArrickJoel) August 21, 2020
SCORING PLAYS
- TOP 3rd: Matt Beaty RBI double (1-0)
- TOP 3rd: Austin Barnes scores on error (2-0)
- TOP 3rd: AJ Pollock RBI single (3-0)
- TOP 3rd: Cody Bellinger RBI single (4-0)
- BOT 4th: Kyle Seager solo HR (4-1)
- TOP 5th: Mookie Betts scores on wild pitch (5-1)
- TOP 8th: Cody Bellinger solo HR (6-1)
PLAY OF THE GAME
Play of the game goes to Clayton Kershaw for the pitch he threw to Shed Long Jr. that earned him his 5th K of the night and sole possession of second place on the Dodgers all-time strikeout list.
Congrats to @ClaytonKersh22 for passing Drysdale for second all time in franchise strike outs. We appreciate you every day as #Dodgers fans pic.twitter.com/OUzJD7wuPS
— Dodgers Tailgate (@DodgersTailgate) August 21, 2020
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Player of the game also goes to Kershaw for his overall pitching performance tonight. He went 7 innings, racking up 11 strikeouts while only giving up one earned run on four hits.
11 Ks on the evening.
The Kersh Curve was working tonight. pic.twitter.com/cHW3hKvx0U
— MLB (@MLB) August 21, 2020
UP NEXT
The Dodgers will head back to Los Angeles to face the Colorado Rockies, who are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Walker Buehler will take the mound for game 1 of this three-game set, looking to bounce back after a rough last start: he went only 4.2 innings versus the Angels, giving up four earned runs off six hits.
The Rockies will counter with starting pitcher Jon Gray, who pitched well in his last outing against the Texas Rangers. He went 7 innings of three-hit, three-run ball with seven strikeouts. Tomorrow’s game will start at 6:40 PT.
Jacob Cisneros is a writer for Dodgers LowDown. You can find him on Twitter @_JacobCisneros.
Amanda Powers is an editor (and sometimes writer) for Dodgers LowDown. Follow her on Twitter @geekpowers.