KERSHAW WINS 2OTH, 15^TH STRAIGHT DECISION

Giants Postseason Hopes Dealt Setback

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24 (AP) – Clayton Kershaw allowed one run in six innings and a bevy of relievers combined to close out the left-hander’s 20^th win of the season, a 4-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium.  Kershaw hasn’t been charged with a loss in his last 19 starts, dating back to June 8 at Colorado.  He has won his last 15 consecutive decisions, the longest such streak in the major leagues this season.  Kershaw’s next start will come in the National League Divisional Series, opponent currently unknown.  The Dodgers clinched the NL West on September 18.

The Giants drew first blood in the opening frame.  Hunter Pence led off with a single and, after Joe Panik struck out, advanced to third on Buster Posey’s double.  Pablo Sandoval’s ground out to short brought Pence home to give San Francisco a 1-0 lead.

But the Dodgers knotted the game in the bottom of the first.  Dee Gordon led off with a base hit off Giants starter Tim Hudson and stole second, then tagged and went to third when Yasiel Puig flied out to right.  Adrian Gonzalez drove Gordon home with a sacrifice fly to even the score.

The Dodgers took the lead in the third.  A.J. Ellis singled leading off and, after Kershaw fanned, moved to third on Gordon’s two-bagger.  It appeared Hudson might escape damage when he retired Puig on a comebacker, with the runners holding.  But Gonzalez came through with an infield hit, scoring Ellis to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.

In the fifth, the Dodgers gained some insurance.  Again, Gordon started things off, this time with a one-out base hit and his second stolen base of the game.  Puig made it 3-1 when he doubled Gordon home and Matt Kemp’s two-out single plated Puig to increase the Dodgers lead to three runs.

Kershaw kept the Giants from scoring any further through six and then Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly employed a dizzying number of relievers—six in all—to work through the final three frames.  The Giants stranded three runners over the last three innings, and nine overall, but couldn’t draw any closer.  Yimi Gracia got the final three outs to record his first save of the year as the Dodgers gave Kenley Jansen, who had been overworked recently, a much needed off-day.

The loss represents a setback to the Giants’ quest for a wildcard slot.  With four games remaining, San Francisco stands a game behind the Cincinnati Reds for the final playoff spot in the NL.  The Reds came out on the short end of a 3-0 decision that saw the Milwaukee Brewers snap a 10-game losing streak.  The remaining schedule would appear to favor the Giants.  San Francisco finishes with four games against the San Diego Padres, the team with the worst record in the National League.  Cincinnati has a final game with the Brewers and then wraps the regular season with a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are battling the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL Central title.

9/24/2014, SF14-LAN14, Dodger Stadium

                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP

2014 Giants            1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0     1  7  0     9  0

2014 Dodgers           1  0  1  0  2  0  0  0  x     4  8  1     4  1

Giants               AB  R  H BI   AVG    Dodgers              AB  R  H BI   AVG

Pence             rf  5  1  2  0  .276    Gordon,D          2b  4  2  3  0  .267

Panik             2b  4  0  1  0  .269    Puig              cf  4  1  1  1  .281

Posey             1b  4  0  1  0  .283    Gonzalez,Ad       1b  3  0  1  2  .274

Sandoval          3b  4  0  0  1  .249    Kemp              rf  3  0  1  1  .273

Susac             c   1  0  0  0  .218     Rojas            ss  1  0  0  0  .107

Dominguez,C       lf  4  0  0  0  .077    Ramirez,H         ss  3  0  0  0  .259

Arias             ss  4  0  0  0  .253     Pederson         rf  1  0  0  0  .059

Blanco,G          cf  4  0  2  0  .268    Crawford,C        lf  3  0  1  0  .313

Hudson,T          p   2  0  0  0  .170    Uribe             3b  3  0  0  0  .340

 Ishikawa         ph  1  0  0  0  .370     Coulombe         p   0  0  0  0  .000

 Affeldt          p   0  0  0  0  .000     Perez,C          p   0  0  0  0  .000

 Brown,G          ph  1  0  1  0  .400     League           p   0  0  0  0  .000

                     34  1  7  1           Wilson,Br        p   0  0  0  0  .000

                                           Howell           p   0  0  0  0 1.000

                                           Garcia,Y         p   0  0  0  0  .000

                                          Ellis,A           c   3  1  1  0  .197

                                          Kershaw           p   2  0  0  0  .246

                                           Turner,Ju        3b  1  0  0  0  .345

                                                               31  4  8  4

Giants                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Hudson,T         L 12-11         6.0  8  4  4  0  4  78  57  3.96

Affeldt                          2.0  0  0  0  0  2  27  15  2.50

                                 8.0  8  4  4  0  6 105  72

Dodgers                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Kershaw          W 20-3          6.0  5  1  1  2  5  95  66  1.62

Coulombe         H 2             0.1  0  0  0  0  0   4   2  0.00

Perez,C          H 12            0.1  0  0  0  0  0   6   3  2.47

League           H 17            1.0  1  0  0  0  0  19  10  4.09

Wilson,Br                        0.0  0  0  0  1  0   6   2  3.62

Howell           H 26            0.1  0  0  0  0  1   5   4  0.88

Garcia,Y         S 1             1.0  1  0  0  0  2  12   8  1.29

                                 9.0  7  1  1  3  8 147  95

SF : Ishikawa batted for Hudson,T in the 7th

     Brown,G batted for Affeldt in the 9th

LAN: Rojas inserted at ss in the 7th

     Pederson inserted at rf in the 7th

     Turner,Ju inserted at 3b in the 7th

E-Uribe. 2B-Pence(24), Posey(17), Blanco,G(21), Gordon,D(22), Puig(36),

Crawford,C(12). RBI-Sandoval(63), Puig(76), Gonzalez,Ad 2(105), Kemp(79).

SB-Gordon,D 2(63). K-Pence 2, Panik, Susac, Dominguez,C 3, Blanco,G, Puig,

Gonzalez,Ad, Ramirez,H, Ellis,A 2, Kershaw. BB-Susac 3. SF-Gonzalez,Ad.

GWRBI: Gonzalez,Ad

Temperature: 73, Sky: cloudy, Wind: left to right at 2 MPH.

Attendance: 56,059

Game Time: 2:38