NEW YORK — Clayton Kershaw breezed through six perfectly easy innings against the worst-hitting team in baseball, facing an especially meek Mets lineup that made a no-hitter seem more likely than not.
NEW YORK — Clayton Kershaw breezed through six perfectly easy innings against the worst-hitting team in baseball, facing an especially meek Mets lineup that made a no-hitter seem more likely than not.
Not long after the Dodgers’ left-hander realized that he was working on a perfect game to start the seventh inning, it was gone. Kershaw had to settle for a three-hit shutout, leading Los Angeles to a 3-0 victory against New York on Thursday night.
“Once the seventh inning rolls around, it’s time that it could be possible and didn’t last very long,” Kershaw said. “Not a whole lot of nerves. If you don’t do it, so what, but if you do, it’s pretty exciting.”
Kershaw (8-6) now has thrown 29 consecutive scoreless innings — 14 2-3 less than teammate Zack Greinke — and 11 career shutouts. He was perfect until Curtis Granderson lined a leadoff single in the seventh inning.
“Clayton is so competitive, in a healthy way, that he wants to show how good he is. And Zack, on the other end of it, doesn’t seem like, over the last couple years, he was really just wanting to go by the wayside, he was kind of showing all of us that he could pitch, too,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.
The Mets were all but helpless against the three-time Cy Young Award winner. Kershaw struck out 11 and did not walk a batter. He has fanned 38 without a walk in his last three outings.
“He really didn’t miss over the middle of the plate tonight,” said Lucas Duda, who singled in the eighth and was picked off first.
Jimmy Rollins hit his ninth home run in the third inning for first-place Los Angeles and that was enough for Kershaw. He improved to 6-0 with 1.34 ERA in his career against the Mets. His career ERA against the Mets is the lowest of any pitcher to ever face them in at least eight starts, according to STATS.
Bartolo Colon (9-9) tossed eight innings and allowed five hits and one run.
The Dodgers tacked on two runs against relievers Sean Gilmartin and Carlos Torres in the ninth.
Kershaw threw his first no-hitter 13 months ago at Dodger Stadium against the Colorado Rockies.
The closest New York came to getting a runner in the first six innings came when Eric Campbell struck out in the fifth inning and the ball bounced away from the catcher. Yasmani Grandal quickly made an off-balanced throw to nip Campbell at first.
Kershaw got ahead 0-2 on Granderson leading off the seventh, but the Mets outfielder lined a clean single to right on the third pitch. Kershaw dipped his head, took a short walk behind the mound and proceeded to strike out the next batter, Ruben Tejada, swinging at a curveball.
The Mets came into the game with the lowest batting average in the major leagues at .235 and Thursday’s lineup was especially limited. New York had three starters, not including Colon, hitting under .200. The cleanup hitter John Mayberry started batting .170. In the five-hole, Campbell was batting .179.
On June 9, San Francisco rookie Chris Heston threw a no-hitter at Citi Field.
CARDINALS 4, ROYALS 3
ST. LOUIS — John Lackey threw seven strong innings after a shaky beginning, Trevor Rosenthal escaped his own jam in the ninth and St. Louis beat Kansas City.
Randal Grichuk and Matt Carpenter hit two-run homers as the Cardinals won in the makeup of a rainout last month.
As in the originally scheduled game, St. Louis and Kansas City led their league in wins and Lackey (9-5) and Chris Young (8-6) were the scheduled starters.
Rosenthal, pitching for the third straight day, took over to begin the ninth with a 4-2 lead. Alex Rios led off with a single and Omar Infante followed with a triple.
The Royals went on to put runners on second and third with no outs, but Rosenthal held on for his 30th save in 32 chances. Mike Moustakas grounded out to end it.
ASTROS 5, RED SOX 4
HOUSTON — Jose Altuve homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth, the last of his four hits, and Houston Astros beat Boston to extend the Red Sox’s losing streak to a season-high eight games.
The game was tied at 4-all when Altuve connected off Craig Breslow (0-1) and homered into the seats in left-center. The play was reviewed and confirmed.
Marwin Gonzalez and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Astros, who lead the majors with 135 home runs.
TWINS 3, ANGELS 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ervin Santana pitched eight innings of four-hit ball against his former team, and Minnesota snapped both its four-game skid and Los Angeles’ seven-game winning streak.
Trevor Plouffe hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning for the Twins, who wrapped their six-game California road trip with bookend wins.
Santana (2-0) was outstanding in his fourth start for Minnesota after throwing 7 2-3 scoreless innings in Oakland last week. He spent his first eight major league seasons with the Angels, winning 96 games from 2005-12.
YANKEES 9, ORIOLES 3
NEW YORK — Jacoby Ellsbury finished a triple shy of the cycle and drove in four runs and Chase Headley hit a three-run double in the first inning as New York completed a three-game sweep of Baltimore to bolster its spot atop the AL East.
Masahiro Tanaka (7-3) won his third straight start, allowing three solo homers and a double in 7 2-3 innings to help New York to its ninth win in 11 games.
The Yankees are 12 over .500 at 53-41 for the first time since May 25, 2013, their high point that season.
Ellsbury homered, had a sacrifice fly and a two-run double among three hits. With a chance at the cycle, he grounded back to the pitcher in the eighth.
PIRATES 7, NATIONALS 3
PITTSBURGH — Francisco Liriano allowed three hits over six-plus dominant innings and Pittsburgh raced by Washington.
Liriano (6-6) struck out 11 against three walks as the Pirates returned from a miserable post All-Star break road trip to drop the NL East-leading Nationals. Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Francisco Cervelli homered for Pittsburgh, which ended a seven-game losing streak to Washington.
Starling Marte and Jung Ho Kang added two hits apiece for the Pirates, who acquired third baseman Aramis Ramirez from Milwaukee before the game to bolster an infield dealing with injuries to Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer.
Doug Fister (3-6) labored through five innings, giving up four runs and nine hits to drop his third straight decision. Ian Desmond had two of Washington’s six hits, including a two-run homer in the ninth.
DIAMONDBACKS 8, BREWERS 3
PHOENIX — Zack Godley struck out seven in six shutout innings in his major league debut, leading Arizona to a victory over Milwaukee.
Godley, a 25-year-old right-hander called up from Double-A before Thursday’s game, held the Brewers to four hits, sprinting off the mound to the dugout after each inning. He got run support from 13 Diamondbacks hits, including three with two RBIs for A.J Pollock.
Yasmany Tomas gave the Diamondbacks an early lead with a solo home run in the second inning. The Brewers failed to score in the third after putting runners on first and third with no outs.
MARINERS 3, TIGERS 2, 12 INNINGS
DETROIT — Mike Zunino’s RBI double in the top of the 12th inning gave Seattle a win over Detroit.
Chris Taylor started the 12th with a single off Ian Krol (1-3), and Zunino tried to bunt him to second. After two failed attempts, Zunino doubled down the left-field line. Yoenis Cespedes misread the bounce off the fence, allowing Taylor to score the go-ahead run.
Tom Wilhelmsen pitched the bottom of the 12th for his first save of the season after Fernando Rodney (3-4) threw a scoreless 11th.
Neither starter was involved in the decision.
David Price, the subject of trade rumors with Detroit (47-48) struggling to get above .500, allowed two runs in eight-plus innings. Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma allowed two runs in seven innings.
BLUE JAYS 5, ATHLETICS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. — Russell Martin homered, doubled and drove in three runs, Josh Donaldson went deep against his former team and Toronto powered past Oakland.
The Blue Jays continued their pop at the plate to give knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (4-10) all the support he needed. Dickey allowed two runs and five hits in 8 1-3 innings in place of ill starter Drew Hutchison, who is scheduled to take the mound in Friday’s series opener at Seattle instead.
Drew Pomeranz started after the A’s traded lefty Scott Kazmir to Houston for a pair of minor leaguers before the game. Pomeranz gave up two runs in 1 2-3 innings, and the bullpen also struggled to contain Toronto’s potent hitters.
Bo Schultz got Ike Davis to ground into a double play for his first career save.
Dan Otero (2-4) allowed two runs in three innings for the loss.
WHITE SOX 8, INDIANS 1
CLEVELAND — Jeff Samardzija, perhaps pitching for the final time in a Chicago uniform, allowed one run in eight innings and Melky Cabrera homered from both sides of the plate, leading the White Sox to a victory over Cleveland.
Samardzija (7-5), who has been the subject of trade rumors with the July 31 deadline approaching, held the Indians to four hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.
Cabrera hit a leadoff homer in the fourth off right-hander Trevor Bauer to break a scoreless tie. He added a two-run shot off left-hander Kyle Crockett in the seventh. Cabrera has homered from both sides of the plate twice in his career, the first time on July 28, 2014, against Boston.
MARLINS 4, PADRES 0
SAN DIEGO — Tom Koehler threw seven strong innings, combining with two relievers on a three-hitter that lifted Miami to a win over San Diego.
Koehler (8-6) walked four and hit a batter, but the right-hander limited the Padres to three singles and successfully worked out of the only jam he faced. Koehler, Steve Cishek and Mike Dunn handed San Diego its major league-high 14th shutout.
Miami won its third straight on the road for the first time this season. The Marlins used five consecutive singles with two outs, along with a wild pitch and two errors on the same play, to score four runs in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie.
Tyson Ross (6-8) was dominant early before he faltered in the sixth. Ross allowed four runs – three earned – and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts.