Kershaw Bests Richard In Battle Of The Clayton’s

The Padres opened the unoffical start of the second half with a battle against one of baseball’s best pitchers. The Padres put together good at-bats, but ultimately were beaten by the Dodgers 2-1, in Los Angeles.

San Diego got on the board first, scoring their only run of the game in the second inning. Yasmani Grandal opened the inning with a double, and went to third on a grounder by Cameron Maybin. Everth Cabrera drove in the run with an RBI ground out.

Kershaw did not exactly baffle the Padres, as they had a runner on in every inning. The Padres were brutal once again with runners in scoring position, as they went 0-12 in RBI situations, and they left 10 men on base. Kershaw got the win, throwing 110 innings in six innings of work.

The other Clayton, Clayton Richard pitched well again for the Pad-Squad, as he gave up just two runs in 7.1 innings of work. The only runs against him came courtesy of a two-run shot by Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis. The blast made a hard-luck loser out of Richard, as his record dropped to 6-10.

Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp returned to the lineup for the Blue-Crew, and went 2-4 in his return. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 16th save. The series continues tomorrow, as Edinson Volquez takes the hill for the Padres.

Notable: Yasmani Grandal: 2-4, Logan Forsythe 2-5.