The Dodgers only collected one hit Tuesday night in San Francisco, and that hit didn’t even lead to their one run. However, they managed to win, thanks to Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw pitched a four-hit shutout, striking out four, for the first complete game of his career. His previous career-long start was eight innings, achieved four times. When Aubrey Huff struck out in the seventh inning, that gave Kershaw 200 strikeouts on the season. This is the 43rd season in Dodger history of 200 or more strikeouts.
Kershaw ended the night with 201 strikeouts, putting him seven behind Tim Lincecum of the Giants for the National League lead. The last Dodger pitcher to lead the league in strikeouts was Hideo Nomo, who struck out 235 batters in 1995.
The lone Dodger run was scored in the sixth inning, thanks to two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and an error by shortstop Juan Uribe. The one hit was a single by Matt Kemp in the second inning, but he was caught stealing, for the 15th time on the year.
This was the sixth time since 1920 that the Dodgers have won a game with one hit or less. Their last such win was on June 28, 2008, when they beat the Angels with no hits.
The Dodgers and Giants have split 16 games so far this season, with two games remaining against one another. Chad Billingsley and Matt Cain face off in the second game of the series Wednesday night at AT&T Park.