The Los Angeles Dodgers look for their second straight win over the San Francisco Giants Tuesday night, and they have just the man on the mound to do it in ace Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw is 6-1 with a 1.25 ERA in his career against the Giants, with 87 strikeouts in 79 innings. Last year, Kershaw was even better against San Francisco, going 5-0 in six starts with a 1.07 ERA, including beating Tim Lincecum in four different showdowns.
Lincecum pitches on Wednesday night so we miss another showdown, but Ryan Vogelsong starts Tuesday for the Giants.
Matt Kemp went 3-for-3 with a walk on Monday night to raise his batting average back above .400, as he is now hitting .406/.488/.832. But he is also dealing with a tight left hamstring that kept him out of the starting lineup on Sunday and had Kemp running gingerly both on the bases and in the field Monday night.
Manager Don Mattingly after the game sounded sufficiently worried about his best player.
"He's a guy that knows his body really well. The balls he was hitting down the line, I could tell he was taking care and not running like he usually does, knowing it was a double and not a triple," Mattingly said. "He was just really being cautious I think. I don't know. I keep talking to the medical people and they keep telling me he's okay."
The Dodgers are 11-2 at home this season
Tuesday night's 7:10 p.m. PDT game will be televised by KCAL and MLB Network. For more news and notes about the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.
