Post-Game 5 Thread: Kershaw Shows Up Yet Again; Dodger Bats Still Missing

"Wow, this home plate is so shiny and untouched! It's like new!"

DODGERS 1, PIRATES 0

Clayton Kershaw went seven scoreless innings and struck out nine. Which should have been all you needed to know...except AJ Burnett also struck out nine (over 5.1 IP), making this a tougher one that it really should have been.

Burnett's only miss was giving up a base hit to Mark Ellis that scored Carl Crawford, who singled and took second on a SB (Crawford had two SB in the game, and is the brightest offensive star in the Dodgers' lineup with his .438 BA in the leadoff spot). Dodgers scored one in the third inning...and that was all the offense we saw all game. Eight scattered hits for the Dodgers, and only one run to show for it. 2-for 14 with RISP, and 10 team LOB: not the marks of an offensive engine. (Only Pittsburgh has scored fewer runs than us in the NL.)

I suppose we should be thankful that Mark Ellis is batting .375, and A-Gon (2-for-3) is batting .313. But Matt Kemp went 0-for-4 with 3 Ks and 4 LOB; he's batting .056 on the year. Luis Cruz (0-for-4, 6 LOB) and Justin Sellers (0-for-4, 5 LOB) each had two Ks, and neither has one hit ALL YEAR. Geez.

Brandon League had a 15-pitch, four-batter ninth inning, but retired Andrew McCutchen on one pitch, with a man on first, to end the game.

photo: Victor Decolongon/Getty Images