Clayton Kershaw effective again in his creep towards 3000 strikeouts, Dodgers complete sweep – Dodgers Digest

The Dodgers have completed a sweep of the Rockies to start their short road trip, as Clayton Kershaw continued to be effective and the offense did just enough for him in a 3-1 victory.

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The thing that matters here is Clayton Kershaw’s chase for his 3000th strikeout, but that’s overshadowing how effective he’s been this year. Things started well in the 1st with a clean frame, but Brenton Doyle did get him for a solo shot in the 2nd to put the Rockies up 1-0.

Doyle rules 🤘 pic.twitter.com/5O9wPCtiuT

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) June 26, 2025

Anddd … that was it for the Rockies. They managed just a single and a walk over the next four innings, and the latter was erased by a double play, so he faced just one over the minimum.

He was effective and efficient, striking out five batters to put Kershaw three away from 3000: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 69 Pitches.

3 away for King Kersh!#LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/yAPW8CbxhQ

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 26, 2025

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The bats of the Dodgers didn’t exactly set the world on fire again, managing just a single through the first two innings. But they got a rally with one-out in the 3rd behind a Miguel Rojas double and Shohei Ohtani walk to put a pair on. After a wild pitch advanced them both, Mookie Betts hit an infield single that looked awfully familiar to last October to tie things up at 1-1.

Way to hustle Mook! Tie game!!!#LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/QYqgTPKxX8

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 26, 2025

Unfortunately, a double play followed, so that was all they got, and they also went down in order in the 4th, then stranded a lead-off double in the 5th.

Eventually, they finally got on the board again in the 6th, as a Mookie Betts double, a Will Smith walk, and a Freddie Freeman single made it 2-1. However, they again couldn’t get anything further.

Freddie for the lead 😎#LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/YJE5yMQgue

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 26, 2025

Some insurance came via Shohei Ohtani’s 28th homer of the year in the 7th, extending the lead to 3-1.

Shohei sends a souvenir to Kirby! pic.twitter.com/0InxoClYmm

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 26, 2025

That was all the bats got for the game, as they got just a two-out double in the 8th the rest of the way.

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And so that left things up to the pen.

Kirby Yates started things, issuing a two-out walk in the 7th but getting a scoreless frame. A Michael Kopech clean frame followed in the 8th, which set things up well for Tanner Scott. He started things shakily by issuing a walk, but rebounded with a strikeout and then got a bizarre double play where Andy Pages caught a fliner and doubled the runner off.

The Rockies get doubled up to end the game with the tying run at the plate. Man. pic.twitter.com/md81GhnD5E

— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) June 26, 2025

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The Dodgers will now travel to Kansas City for a three-game series against the Royals starting at 2:10 PM HT/5:10 PM PT/8:10 PM ET. It’ll be Dustin May matching up against Noah Cameron on MLB Network.