The Los Angeles Dodgers rode the stellar pitching of starter Clayton Kershaw to a 5-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants in front of 34,014 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw pitched eight innings and allowed one run on just three hits, striking out eight and walking three in his final start as the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. He finished the contest and the season with a major league-leading 2.53 ERA.
The Dodgers' offense came relatively late in the game, starting in the fifth inning when Kershaw helped his own cause with an RBI single that scored third baseman Luis Cruz. First basemen Adrian Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI single of his own in the sixth.
The game was put out of reach in the bottom of the eighth when Juan Rivera hit a three-run shot off reliever Jean Machi. Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong pitched five innings and struck out seven, allowing one run on two hits. Clay Hensley took the loss for San Francisco and moved to 4-5 to finish the season.