Clayton Kershaw One-Hits Giants En Route to Dodgers Clinching NL West

Los Angeles entered the series with a magic number of two and finished the opener with the same digit as it suffered a 3-2 loss in 12 innings.Andre Ethier forged a tie with an RBI groundout with one out in the ninth, but the Dodgers went on to suffer their fourth straight loss and eighth in 10 games.

“I don’t know if you can get wiser from failing all the time”. For a guy who’s 38, he plays like he’s 28.

Lucas Duda hit two homers for the NL East champion Mets, who hadn’t lost away from home since September 6, at Miami. “It was kind of what we wanted, more of a clean game, playing up to our potential”.

It was the third consecutive divisional crown for the Dodgers, who will now be dreaming of their first World Series title since 1988.

After the game, Kershaw on the field celebrating with his teammates when SportsNet LA tossed up a graphic indicating the Dodgers are the NL West champs.

The San Fran posted a message on the video board that read, “Congratulations L.A. Dodgers!” “They are tough to beat”.

The Giants, facing the mathematical impossibility of six back with five to play, will fail to gain entry to the postseason as defending World Series champions for the third time in five years.

With Corey Seager and Ellis also driving in runs on singles, the Dodgers were now up, 8-0. Arrieta also has a league high four complete games pitched this year, and his 1.82 ERA pretty much speaks for itself.

The Dodgers lost the first two games of the series against the Giants.

Now, with two of the top pitchers in the game – Zack Greinke and Kershaw – stellar rookies such as Seager and outfielder Joc Pederson, veteran infielder Jimmy Rollins and August acquisition Chase Utley leading a loaded bench, the Dodgers are counting on a deep October run.

RHP Jake Peavy came through with arguably his best performance of the season when the Giants needed it most Monday night in his club’s win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kershaw is embarking on his fifth postseason, but he said he doesn’t know if he has gotten any wiser from the experience.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals, plagued all season with nagging injuries, continue to be the best team in baseball as they are easily going to win their division and are, currently, just one game shy of the 100 win mark. It will ultimately be judged not by capturing a third consecutive division title, but what it does once it begins the postseason. Los Angeles won for the first time in eight tries this season at AT&T Park on Tuesday and could face a young San Francisco lineup Wednesday.

The Dodgers boast the worst record among the National League’s playoff teams. The Minnesota Twins (81-75) were rained out in Cleveland, dropping them one-and-a-half games behind Los Angeles in the wild-card race.

In the sixth inning, two solo home runs by Justin Ruggiano and A.J. San Francisco shut out Los Angeles in sweeping a home series May 19-21.

“You take that, and you remember that feeling going into the offseason”.

Afterward, Bochy said something about Bumgarner he never had to utter last October: “I think the pitches caught up with him”. Because the only thing that has changed is how many more games I get to see the Giants play.

“The Dodgers were ahead, 4-0, and Bumgarner”™s night was over. Giants LF Nori Aoki (concussion) flew to Pittsburgh on Tuesday to be examined by concussion specialist Dr. Mickey Collins.

Buster Posey is 6 for 13 against Kershaw this year after hitting.