• Alfaro’s double gives Nola, Phillies win over Dodgers
LOS ANGELES » Jorge Alfaro drove in two runs, Aaron Nola pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Thursday, spoiling Clayton Kershaw’s first start in almost a month.
Hitting out of the No. 8 spot in the Phillies’ lineup, Alfaro delivered an RBI single in the second inning against Kershaw and had an RBI double off reliever Josh Fields in the seventh.
Nola (7-2) struck out seven, including five of the last seven batters he faced. He walked one and allowed just two runners to reach as far as second base. Seranthony Dominguez held the Dodgers scoreless over the final two innings for his second save.
Nola allowed one run or fewer in five of his six starts in May and posted a 1.80 ERA in the month. The righthander has allowed just three hits over his last two outings combined, after holding Toronto to one hit and one run over 6.2 innings Saturday.
Kershaw pitched in his first game since May 1, spending time on the disabled list with left biceps tendinitis.
Kershaw’s first in-game pitch in 30 days was a 90-mph fastball that Phillies leadoff man Cesar Hernandez hit into center field for a single.
Alfaro’s RBI single to center in the second inning brought home Maikel Franco from second base. Joc Pederson’s throw home appeared to beat Franco to the plate, but catcher Yasmani Grandal couldn’t handle the short hop. Replays appeared to show that Franco never touched home plate, but the Dodgers never appealed.
Alfaro broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning when he doubled to the wall in right-center field off Fields (22). He was thrown out at third base trying to extend the hit to a triple.
The Phillies earned a split in the four-game series and are 2-5 at Dodger Stadium over the past two years after getting swept in a three-game series in Los Angeles in April 2017.
Nola held the Dodgers hitless until Puig’s leadoff double in the fifth.
UP NEXT
PHILLIES » RHP Nick Pivetta (4-3, 3.26 ERA) will start in the opener of a three-game series at San Francisco having allowed just three earned runs combined over his last four starts.