Kershaw Stellar As Dodgers Keep Braves Off The Board Again

LOS ANGELES, CA — Clayton Kershaw limited the Atlanta Braves to two hits over eight innings and Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the first in the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 victory Friday evening in Game 2 of a National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called Kershaw's performance "one of the best outings that I've seen that I can recall, in the sense that he used his complete repertoire of pitches."

"He used both sides of the plate," Roberts said. "He changed eye levels effectively. And he really pitched. And so with that, there was a lot of soft contact. He was in complete control."

Kershaw did not walk a batter, struck out three and needed only 85 pitches for eight innings.

Kershaw allowed a leadoff double to Ronald Acuna Jr., then retired the next 14 batters. Ender Inciarte singled with two outs in the fifth. The next batter, former Dodger Charlie Culberson, grounded out to end the inning.

Kershaw hit pinch-hitter Lane Adams leading off the sixth. Kershaw got Acuna to ground into a force out and Juan Camargo to hit into a double play to end the sixth.

Kershaw retired Atlanta in order in the seventh and eighth innings.

Kershaw took the mound to start the ninth, but many in the capacity crowd of 54,452 booed when Roberts walked out to take Kershaw out of the game in favor of reliever Kenley Jansen after Tyler Flowers was announced as a pinch- hitter for pitcher Arodys Vizcaino.

"It's just more forcing Brian's hand," Roberts said, referring to Braves manager Brian Snitker. "If they would have brought (Lucas) Duda up there to face Clayton, he was going to face him.

"But for them to burn two players for one move, I felt that that was a way that you can use their two best hitters off the bench and get our guy in there."

Roberts said he did not give "a whole lot" of consideration to allowing Kershaw to finish the game.

"He took a ball I think in the sixth inning maybe, off the hamstring, and so as the game progressed, it continued to tighten up a little bit," Roberts said.

"And so for me, I thought -- obviously he had really good stuff -- but then as you get to the sixth, the seventh, and the eighth inning, and understanding that the potential that it is tightening up, I felt we had a pretty good option in Kenley back there."

No Dodger pitcher managed a complete game during the regular season.

Kershaw is a combined 6-0 against Atlanta in the regular season and postseason.

The Dodgers joined the 1921 New York Yankees as the only teams with shutouts in their first two games of a single postseason.

Game 3 of the best-of-five series will be played Sunday at SunTrust Field in Cumberland, Georgia.

Machado hit a 3-0 cutter from Anibal Sanchez an estimated 386 feet over the left field fence. Yasmani Grandal ended an 0-for-20 postseason hitless streak with a fifth-inning solo homer off Sanchez that was estimated to travel 419 feet.

All but one of the Dodgers nine runs in the NLDS has come via the home run.

Jansen allowed a one-out single to Acuna, then got Johan Camargo to pop out and struck out Freddie Freeman for the save.

City News Service; Photo: LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 05: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers delivers the pitch during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves during Game Two of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)