Kershaw, Dodgers shut down Braves
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw tossed eight innings of two-hit ball in the Dodgers’ second straight playoff shutout, and Manny Machado slugged a two-run homer as Los Angeles beat the Atlanta Braves 3-0 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their NL Division Series.
The Dodgers used a nearly identical formula to win 6-0 in Game 1 behind HyunJin Ryu, who allowed only four two-out singles over seven innings, and home runs by Joc Pederson, Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez.
Kershaw was even better. The left-hander struck out three and walked none in remaining unbeaten against Atlanta throughout his illustrious career.
“I think that it was one of the best outings that I’ve seen,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He was in complete control.”
Los Angeles can sweep the best-of-five series in Game 3 on Sunday in Atlanta, where the Baby Braves will be looking to score for the first time this postseason.
Kershaw got bypassed as the Game 1 starter in favor of Ryu after the three-time Cy Young Award winner had started eight of the Dodgers’ past 10 postseason openers. Roberts said it was done to give both Ryu and Kershaw five days of rest between starts.
One more victory would put Los Angeles in the NL Championship Series for the third straight year. The Dodgers beat the Cubs in the NLCS last season and lost to them in that round in 2016.
Kershaw ran out to the mound as though he was going to pitch the ninth, bringing cheers from the sellout crowd of 54,452. But when Roberts went out to pull his ace after 85 pitches, fans booed.
Kenley Jansen gave up a one-out single to Ronald Acuna Jr. before earning the save.
Machado hit a two-run shot on a 3-0 pitch from Anibal Sanchez with two outs in the first. Joc Pederson doubled leading off.