The Dodgers needed a win and a San Francisco Giants loss to clinch the NL West on Saturday night. They did their part with a convincing 14-1 blowout of the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. They’ll have to wait until at least Sunday, however, to celebrate.
Clayton Kershaw looked like the Clayton Kershaw of old (not the one that missed more than two months on the DL because of a back injury), striking out six Rockies and allowing just three hits over seven scoreless innings en route to his 12th win of the season. Kershaw even contributed with the bat with an RBI single. Chad Bettis, meanwhile, struggled almost from the outset. Bettis allowed four of his seven runs (five earned) in the fourth inning and did not complete the fifth inning.
The Dodgers can now clinch the division with a win on Sunday, which will be legendary play-by-play announcer Vin Scully’s final broadcast at Dodger Stadium.