Ethier, Kershaw help Dodgers stop losing skid with 4-2 victory over Mets
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Another day, another hitting streak to begin. One with a little power tossed in.
One day after Andre Ethier’s 30-game hitting streak came to end, he came back Sunday with a pair of hits, including a two-run homer.
With left-hander Clayton Kershaw sharp and Vicente Padilla stepping in to close with a shaky ninth, the Dodgers used it all to escape from New York with a 4-2 victory and avoid a series sweep by the Mets.
Kershaw went 6 2/3 innings, holding the Mets to one run on six hits. He walked three, struck out eight, lowered his earned-run average to 3.12 and looked a lot like an ace stepping up to stop the bleeding.
The Dodgers had lost four consecutive games and six of their previous seven.
Harkening to previous years, Kershaw gave up an early run while initially struggling with his control. He walked a pair in the first, the one run being driven in on a single by Ronny Paulino.
After that, it was all blanks for Kershaw, who threw 111 pitches (72 strikes) and left with two outs in the seventh after surrendering a walk and single. Kenley Jansen, after walking the bases loaded, got Jason Bay to fly out to end the inning.
Kershaw helped tie the score in the third inning. After being hit by a pitch by knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, Keshaw alertly went to second base on a passed ball and third on a Jamey Carroll groundout. He scored on an Aaron Miles hit.
The Dodgers took the lead in the fourth inning after singles by James Loney and Jerry Sands left runners on the corners with one out. Rod Barajas was able to beat the relay on a double-play grounder as Loney scored.
It remained a 2-1 Dodgers lead in the seventh when Carroll led off with a single. Batting leadoff, Carroll led off an inning three times Sunday and singled each time.
Ethier made it count, jumping on a Dickey offering for his fourth home run of the season.
No longer burdened by the hitting streak -- he fell one game short of Willie Davis’ franchise record Saturday -- one theory is Ethier will now be an even better hitter, or a least one demonstrating more power.
Despite the hitting streak, Ethier was actually off to a better start last season. He was in triple-crown position (.392, 11 homers, 36 RBI) when he fractured his finger on May 15.
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-- Steve Dilbeck