Clayton Kershaw had a short night on the mound. It had less to do with his pitching and more to do with the way the Los Angeles Dodgers had been struggling for runs lately.
Manager Don Mattingly took his ace right-hander out of the game in favor of a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and the Dodgers trailing San Francisco's Matt Cain by three runs. But Juan Castro couldn't get the key hit, and the Giants ended up with an 8-5 victory Wednesday night on a tiebreaking three-run homer in the ninth by Cody Ross.
"I didn't really want to take him out there, but I basically had to at that point," Mattingly said. "We're down 4-1 and we've got the bases loaded, so we've got to take a shot at scoring some runs and getting back in the game right there.
"Castro was 2 for 3 off Cain, so at that point he was the best option," he added. "Matt Cain's tough, and you've got your hands full when you face him. So you've got to take advantage of every opportunity you get."
Kershaw gave up seven hits and four runs in five innings. He had pitched 26 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings against the Giants until they hit three consecutive two-out singles in the third inning, including Freddy Sanchez's RBI single, before a three-run rally in the fourth.
"I felt great, but maybe I was a little too predictable," Kershaw said. "I threw just two pitches, pretty much, and maybe should have mixed in a little more stuff. They found some holes in the third inning, and in the fourth it got contagious and they strung some hits together. Fortunately, they were all singles. But it was a frustrating night overall."
Manager Don Mattingly took his ace right-hander out of the game in favor of a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and the Dodgers trailing San Francisco's Matt Cain by three runs. But Juan Castro couldn't get the key hit, and the Giants ended up with an 8-5 victory Wednesday night on a tiebreaking three-run homer in the ninth by Cody Ross.
"I didn't really want to take him out there, but I basically had to at that point," Mattingly said. "We're down 4-1 and we've got the bases loaded, so we've got to take a shot at scoring some runs and getting back in the game right there.
"Castro was 2 for 3 off Cain, so at that point he was the best option," he added. "Matt Cain's tough, and you've got your hands full when you face him. So you've got to take advantage of every opportunity you get."
Kershaw gave up seven hits and four runs in five innings. He had pitched 26 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings against the Giants until they hit three consecutive two-out singles in the third inning, including Freddy Sanchez's RBI single, before a three-run rally in the fourth.
"I felt great, but maybe I was a little too predictable," Kershaw said. "I threw just two pitches, pretty much, and maybe should have mixed in a little more stuff. They found some holes in the third inning, and in the fourth it got contagious and they strung some hits together. Fortunately, they were all singles. But it was a frustrating night overall."
