Dodgers rout Giants, clinch second straight NL West crown


Following Wednesday night’s lopsided 9-1 victory against the Giants, the Dodgers have officially their second consecutive National League West title.

Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw took the mound and held the Giants to eight hits and one early run in eight innings pitched. Kershaw gave up no walks and stroke out eleven Giants’ batters on the night. He was even on his game at the plate, as he tied the game at one apiece in the fifth inning with a triple. What can’t he do?

Clayton Kershaw celebrates the Dodgers' NL West Crown on Wednesday night. — Photo from Robert Hanashiro, USA Today

Clayton Kershaw celebrates the Dodgers’ NL West Crown on Wednesday night. — Photo from Robert Hanashiro, USA Today

Kershaw finished the regular season on par with all of the MVP and Cy Young chatter surrounding him. His record stands at 21-3, an MLB best. His earned-run average is 1.77 and he leads the National League with 239 strikeouts.

It is likely that Kershaw will not pitch again until the Dodgers’ first playoff game on Friday, October 3rd, a game that is expected to be a rematch of last year’s division series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Wednesday’s game was the finale of a three-game series against their rival Giants, in which the Dodgers took two games out of three. They have since recovered after dropping the series opener Monday, 2-5, in 13 innings.

The Dodgers’ other ace, Zack Greinke, led his team to a 4-2 win on Tuesday night to tie the series at 1-1 and set the stage for Kershaw to solidify a division win. Greinke threw a season-high eight innings, allowing six hits and two runs, while striking out five. With 200 strikeouts this season, Greinke joins Kershaw as only the second Dodger duo since 1970 to have over 200 strikeouts in a season.

Tensions between the division rivals came to a head in the first inning of Tuesday’s game when Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner hit outfielder Yasiel Puig in the foot with an 88 mph wild pitch. The benches cleared after the two exchanged a few words and Puig took off towards the mound, though no physical blows were actually exchanged.

The Dodgers have now guaranteed themselves a spot in the post season, regardless of the outcome of their final regular season series against the Rockies, and the Giants are still five games ahead of Milwaukee for the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

It seems that the Dodgers have San Francisco’s number, as the three-game series earlier this month followed the same result as this one.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, it seems that another team has their number– likely their first postseason opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals. In order for the Dodgers to get past the Cards, Clayton Kershaw needs to make sure that his postseason numbers match his regular season ones, something he struggled with and was criticized for last October.

Greinke also needs to continue his role as the team’s second ace, while Dan Haren and Hyun Jin Ryu continue to give the rotation depth.

As for the bats, well, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez need to keep their bats alive, as the team has often struggled on offense against the St. Louis pitching staff.

In the end, Don Mattingly’s team needs to make sure to not get in its own way if it hopes to continue on deep into October.