SAN FRANCISCO – Clayton Kershaw took a share of the major league lead with his seventh win and earned career victory No. 20 against the rival Giants, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers avoid a sweep by beating San Francisco 6-1 on Wednesday.
Kershaw (7-2) struck out five in seven shutout innings and retired the first 10 batters he faced before Justin Ruggiano’s fourth-inning single. The left-hander moved into a tie for most wins with Houston’s Dallas Keuchel.
Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run double in the first and Yasiel Puig singled in a pair of runs in the sixth as the Dodgers jumped on Johnny Cueto (4-3), who lost for the first time at home this season.
Kershaw allowed three hits and didn’t walk a batter for the fourth time in 2017 as the Dodgers snapped their three-game skid and ended the Giants’ season-best five-game winning streak.
Kershaw’s 20th victory against the Giants came in his 39th outing and 38th start of the rivalry — and he’s 12-4 with a 1.29 ERA at AT&T Park. He has allowed one or fewer walks in all but one of his starts.
Eduardo Nuñez hit his first home run of the season in the ninth against former Giants reliever Sergio Romo before he finished the 2-hour, 37-minute game.
The benches cleared briefly after the top of the third when Cueto and Grandal exchanged words. It happened just after Cueto’s high, inside pitch flew wildly past catcher Buster Posey allowing another Dodgers run.
Cueto, who beat Kershaw and the Dodgers on May 1, allowed more than three earned runs for the first time in five starts and just the third in nine outings. The right-hander lost for only the sixth time in 25 starts against the NL West since joining the Giants before the 2016 season and just the first time in six starts at AT&T Park since a defeat against the Diamondbacks here last Aug. 30.
Giants rookie Christian Arroyo started at shortstop, his third infield spot in as many days after playing third on Monday and second Tuesday night.
JANIE McCAULEY
