Kershaw 'like vintage' playing stopper as showdown with SD gets underway

LOS ANGELES -- Having lost four in a row and their lead in the NL West, the Dodgers entered Friday night's series opener against the surging Padres needing to play with some urgency.

Who better to set the right tone than Clayton Kershaw?

"We were talking a little bit today about intensity, and there's just no one more intense or focused than Clayton," manager Dave Roberts said beforehand. "He has a way of elevating people's focus and play. And so to have him tonight, first game of this series, he's the perfect guy."

Kershaw delivered just what his team needed, holding the Padres to one run across six strong innings as the Dodgers reclaimed a share of first place in the division with a 3-2 victory at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles has taken six of its first eight contests against San Diego this year, one win away from clinching the season series and a potential postseason tiebreaker.

The Dodgers aren't playing for a tiebreaker, though. They're trying to play so that they won't need one.

"It's a game in August, obviously. It's not that huge a deal," Kershaw said. "But the way we were going, it felt like a big game for us. Thankful that we got a win.”

Taking on the Dodgers' primary competition in the division, Kershaw gave up a solo shot to Ramón Laureano in the second inning but otherwise kept the Padres off the board. He allowed only three baserunners across his outing, the last of whom was erased on a double play in his sixth and final inning.

The Dodgers backed Kershaw with some small ball in the third inning, building a lead on a Shohei Ohtani RBI fielder's choice and a Mookie Betts sacrifice fly. They later got a vital insurance run from Teoscar Hernández, who took reliever Jeremiah Estrada deep in the seventh.

Kershaw has consistently contributed valuable innings since making his season debut in May, but he's been especially effective in August. He's pitched six innings in each of his past three starts, allowing just two runs in that span.

"I think he's built for these big moments," Hernández said. "He's a legend. He helped us stay in the game. He gave up the homer early, but after that, he was like vintage Clayton Kershaw."

During the Dodgers' four-game losing streak, three of the losses were decided by one run and charged to relievers who had appeared in the eighth inning or later. Given that trend, Roberts had recently expressed a desire to push his starters to go deeper when the situation called for it.

Although Kershaw needed only 76 pitches to complete six innings, Roberts felt that this was not one of those situations. One reason is that Kershaw should be lined up to start next Thursday in Denver, which can take an additional toll on the body. Another is that the Dodgers need to be able to rely on their bullpen arms, and the only way for them to get back on track is to pitch better.

"Where [the Padres were] at, in that part of the order, we have other guys that have to do their job too," Roberts said. "For Clayton to give us six strong innings of one-run baseball, he did his job. And so for me, there was no reason I felt that I needed to push him more.”

It took five arms to get through the final three innings, but the bullpen got the job done. Ben Casparius pitched a scoreless seventh. Alex Vesia, who has struggled in his past few outings, gave up a run on a sac fly in the eighth, but Blake Treinen took over and needed only one pitch to strand a pair of runners. In the ninth, Roberts turned to a combination of Alexis Díaz and Jack Dreyer.

The late innings have been difficult for the Dodgers to piece together lately, a sharp contrast to the team with whom they currently share first place in the division. But they're nonetheless confident in the talent they have, especially with reinforcements on the way.

And there's a belief around the team that series like these can bring out the best in them.

“It’s going to be a fun six weeks," Kershaw said. "The Padres are going to be right there, we’re going to be right there. We got a lot of games against them the next 10 days, obviously. The division isn’t won or lost in the next 10 days. But it will make an impact."