The Los Angeles Dodgers lost two more players to the disabled list on Monday, but they still had Clayton Kershaw and Andre Ethier, who led the team to a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium, the fifth straight win for the Dodgers.
Kershaw pitched seven scoreless innings, the 18th game in his career that he has pitched at least seven innings while allowing no runs. Kershaw struck out six for his third win of the season. If you want to find a key reason for the Dodgers' 24-11 start this season, look no further than their left-handed starting pitchers so far this season:
- Chris Capuano: 5-0, 2.06 ERA
- Ted Lilly: 5-0, 2.11 ERA
- Kershaw: 3-1, 2.22 ERA
The Dodgers are 17-4 in games started by this southpaw trio so far this season.
Ethier hit his eighth home run of the season to back Kershaw, a solo shot in the sixth inning that gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Though Tony Gwynn Jr. will be the primary center fielder with Matt Kemp on the disabled list, manager Don Mattingly said he would use Ethier in center field for "two or three games" in order to give Gwynn some rest.
"Donnie asked me if I could play center, and I said, 'You must not remember a couple of years ago in the All-Star Game, when I saw the starting center fielder'," Ethier said.
Ethier has never played center field in the major leagues, though he did start in center field in the 2010 All-Star Game.
The Dodgers go for a sweep of the brief two-game series with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, with Chad Billingsley facing off with left-hander Wade Miley.
For more news on Kemp and the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.
