Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw turned in yet another strong outing on Sunday afternoon, outdueling Washington Nationals ace Jordan Zimmermann in a 9-2 rout of the Nationals at Nationals Park.
For the 17th time this season, Kershaw pitched at least seven innings, as he surrendered two runs on two hits in seven innings of work on Sunday, striking out nine and walking none.
With the victory, Kershaw inproved to a 9-6 record on the season and boasts a National League-best 2.01 ERA. Kershaw also leads the league in WHIP (0.88) and sits second in complete-games (3), innings pitched (152.1), and strikeouts (148).
The Dodgers stuck early on Sunday and with force, scoring seven runs in the second inning led by a Matt Kemp solo home run (his first at-bat since returning from the disabled list) and a three-run shot by Hanley Ramirez.
Ramirez has been on a tear as of late, posting a .393 batting average with three homers and 10 RBI throughout the month of July, while providing a solid glove at short.
Los Angeles has been the talk of baseball recently as they have charged back to tie the Arizona Diamondbacks for the NL West divison lead. The Dodgers are 17-5 since June 22 and have come from a 9 1/2 game deficit (last place in the standings) and have charged to the front of the division, boasting a 50-47 record.
