Clayton Kershaw struck out seven in his second shutout of the season, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Park, completing a weekend sweep. With the win, the Dodgers are now in a virtual tie with the Giants atop the National League West.
Kershaw allowed just five hits and a walk, lowering his ERA to 2.95 on the year, a fine rebound from allowing eight runs on Tuesday in St. Louis. It was his fifth career shutout, and lowered his career ERA against the Giants to 1.32, including just 0.66 in San Francisco.
Luis Cruz went 2-for-4 with a double to extend his hitting streak to a career best 12 games, and drove in two runs. Cruz has 16 RBI in 22 games as a Dodger.
Hanley Ramirez continued to excel as a Dodger, scoring a run for his fifth straight game and driving in his seventh run in five games with Los Angeles. Ramirez is hitting .333 (7-for-21) since getting traded from Miami.
The Dodgers were shutout by the Giants from June 25-27, and didn't score a single run all series. The Dodgers entered that series up three games in the NL West, and they entered this series three games down. But with their sweep, including their first back-to-back shutouts in San Francisco since moving west, the Dodgers are back atop the division, albeit tied with their rivals.
The Dodgers went 7-3 on their 10-game road trip, and now return home for a nine-game homestand. Aaron Harang starts the series opener against the Diamondbacks Monday night at Dodger Stadium, with Trevor Cahill on the mound for Arizona.
For more on the Dodgers, check out True Blue LA. For all the latest on the Giants, be sure to read than McCovey Chronicles and SB Nation Bay Area.
