The Los Angeles Dodgers are NL West champions for the third straight season, and they can thank the two-time reigning NL Cy Young winner for clinching their crown this season.
On Tuesday night, Clayton Kershaw shut down the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. He threw a complete game shutout, tallying only 104 pitches in the win.
Kershaw allowed one hit, walked one Giant hitter, and struck out 13. He set down the final 19 Giants he faced, and both of the baserunners he allowed over the course of the game came in the third inning.
The celebration at AT&T Park was subdued (especially compared to the Dodgers’ raucous celebration a couple of years ago at Chase Field in Arizona).
There was a significant amount of mutual respect between the Giants and Dodgers following the win.
Congrats @Dodgers #RespectTheRivalry
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 30, 2015
Adrian Gonzalez w/strong praise for Giants. "They had a ton of injuries. I know they won't make that excuse for themselves but they battled"
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) September 30, 2015
We now know the five NL playoff teams – the Mets, Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, and Dodgers will be fighting for the pennant this year. The Mets and Dodgers will be facing off in the NLDS, while the Cubs will be in the Wild Card game.
But who will win the Central – the Pirates or the Cardinals? The Cardinals need to win just one game of today’s doubleheader in Pittsburgh to clinch the crown, but the Pirates won’t go down without a fight.
