Kershaw, Dodgers Shut Out Rockies for Ninth Straight Win
The Los Angeles Dodgers have played themselves right back atop the NL West Division and are looking to pull away from the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. They took a big step in that process on Saturday night, as Clayton Kershaw held the Rockies scoreless in six innings of work, leading the Dodgers to a 4-0 shutout win, which was their ninth in a row. Kershaw was coming off a start that saw him give up four home runs, and had to get out of a first-inning jam on Saturday. The Rockies were able to load the bases, but could not score a run against the Dodgers' ace. The lefty would go on to retire 13 straight after that, and would not be phased the rest of the night. At the plate, Joc Pederson went deep to give L.A. a long ball in 16 consecutive games, and help lead them to their 15th win in 16 contests. The Dodgers' home run streak is their longest in franchise history since 1960, while Pederson's homer was his third of the season and came in the sixth inning. Tyler Chatwood suffered his eighth loss for Colorado and had a career-high eight walks, as Los Angeles walked 10 times on the night. They will look to keep the success going in the series finale Sunday afternoon.
Turner's Five-Hit Game Leads Nationals in Rout of Reds
After needing a comeback to record a walk-off win on Friday night led by Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals were on cruise control Saturday. Michael Taylor hit two home runs, while Trea Turner had his first career five-hit game in what was an 18-3 blowout of the Cincinnati Reds. Daniel Murphy drove in four, including a three-run double, while Turner went a perfect 5-for-5 on the night. He, along with Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Wieters each drove in two to support Joe Ross, who held the Reds scoreless until the sixth in his fourth win of the year. Taylor's first home run came during a four-run fourth inning, with his second coming in his next at-bat in the sixth. The Nats jumped out to a 13-0 lead, jumping all over Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey, who allowed eight runs on six hits over 1.1 innings in his first appearance since August 28th. This is the second time the Reds have surrendered a large amount of runs in a game this year, as they also gave up 17 runs in Toronto on May 29th. They have lost 13 of 14 overall and will look to avoid a sweep in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
Judge Homers, Yankees Fall to Rangers
The power of Aaron Judge was on display yet again Saturday afternoon, but unfortunately for the Yankees, it came in a losing effort. The young slugger's 26th home run of the year was the only source of offense in the Yankees' 8-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. Austin Bibens-Dirkx was impressive in his fourth career start, as he struck out three over seven innings, and did not face more than four batters in an inning. The young hurler finished the outing with 93 pitches, and was supported by a couple of RBI singles from Elvis Andrus in the win. Luis Cessa suffered his second loss in his second start of the year for New York, as he lasted five innings and struck out eight, while allowing three runs on three hits. The right-hander was pitching in place of the injured C.C. Sabathia. The Yankees did remain tied atop the AL East with the Boston Red Sox falling to the Los Angeles Angels. Carlos Gomez helped Texas pull away with a two-run shot, while they added four more in the ninth to seal the victory. The win for the Rangers forces a rubber game in Sunday's matinee series finale.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have played themselves right back atop the NL West Division and are looking to pull away from the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. They took a big step in that process on Saturday night, as Clayton Kershaw held the Rockies scoreless in six innings of work, leading the Dodgers to a 4-0 shutout win, which was their ninth in a row. Kershaw was coming off a start that saw him give up four home runs, and had to get out of a first-inning jam on Saturday. The Rockies were able to load the bases, but could not score a run against the Dodgers' ace. The lefty would go on to retire 13 straight after that, and would not be phased the rest of the night. At the plate, Joc Pederson went deep to give L.A. a long ball in 16 consecutive games, and help lead them to their 15th win in 16 contests. The Dodgers' home run streak is their longest in franchise history since 1960, while Pederson's homer was his third of the season and came in the sixth inning. Tyler Chatwood suffered his eighth loss for Colorado and had a career-high eight walks, as Los Angeles walked 10 times on the night. They will look to keep the success going in the series finale Sunday afternoon.
Turner's Five-Hit Game Leads Nationals in Rout of Reds
After needing a comeback to record a walk-off win on Friday night led by Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals were on cruise control Saturday. Michael Taylor hit two home runs, while Trea Turner had his first career five-hit game in what was an 18-3 blowout of the Cincinnati Reds. Daniel Murphy drove in four, including a three-run double, while Turner went a perfect 5-for-5 on the night. He, along with Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Wieters each drove in two to support Joe Ross, who held the Reds scoreless until the sixth in his fourth win of the year. Taylor's first home run came during a four-run fourth inning, with his second coming in his next at-bat in the sixth. The Nats jumped out to a 13-0 lead, jumping all over Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey, who allowed eight runs on six hits over 1.1 innings in his first appearance since August 28th. This is the second time the Reds have surrendered a large amount of runs in a game this year, as they also gave up 17 runs in Toronto on May 29th. They have lost 13 of 14 overall and will look to avoid a sweep in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
Judge Homers, Yankees Fall to Rangers
The power of Aaron Judge was on display yet again Saturday afternoon, but unfortunately for the Yankees, it came in a losing effort. The young slugger's 26th home run of the year was the only source of offense in the Yankees' 8-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. Austin Bibens-Dirkx was impressive in his fourth career start, as he struck out three over seven innings, and did not face more than four batters in an inning. The young hurler finished the outing with 93 pitches, and was supported by a couple of RBI singles from Elvis Andrus in the win. Luis Cessa suffered his second loss in his second start of the year for New York, as he lasted five innings and struck out eight, while allowing three runs on three hits. The right-hander was pitching in place of the injured C.C. Sabathia. The Yankees did remain tied atop the AL East with the Boston Red Sox falling to the Los Angeles Angels. Carlos Gomez helped Texas pull away with a two-run shot, while they added four more in the ninth to seal the victory. The win for the Rangers forces a rubber game in Sunday's matinee series finale.