Dodgers stud southpaw Clayton Kershaw appeared on his way to defeat Thursday after a pinch-hitter replaced him in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Diamondbacks. But his offense picked him up by turning a 3-0 deficit into a 6-3 lead.
Still, it was a subpar effort by Kershaw, who has likely lost any chance for another Cy Young Award considering the performances of Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke. He allowed three runs on six hits and a walk across five innings while fanning nine.
This was a strange line for Kershaw, as he threw a season-low 80 pitches and drew 19 swinging strikes. It marked his second three-run outing in a row after not allowing more than a single run in 13 of his previous 14 starts.
He still leads all of baseball with 281 strikeouts and holds an elite 2.25 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 31 starts this season.