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Kershaw's 14 strikeouts lift Dodgers to 4th straight win

Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports

For a guy who less than one week ago implored his team to start "panicking a little bit" after suffering a fifth straight loss, Clayton Kershaw looked pretty calm on the Dodger Stadium mound Friday night.

Calm and dominant, of course.

Though Kershaw's teammates dutifully heeded his words by notching three straight wins heading into Friday's series opener, the 27-year-old hardly broke a sweat as he carved up the Chicago Cubs, notching 14 strikeouts while allowing one run over eight sublime innings en route to a 4-1 victory.

On the night that legendary broadcaster Vin Scully revealed his intentions to return for a 67th season in 2016, Kershaw still managed to steal the show, allowing only three hits while issuing one walk to lower his ERA to 2.24. His lone blemish came in the top of the fourth, when Anthony Rizzo ripped a solo shot to center field that temporarily tied the game at 1-1.

"He's the best lefty in the game, and the best pitcher in the game as well," Cubs catcher Miguel Montero told reporters after the game. "It's really pick your poison - fastball, breaking ball, curve ball - he's effective with all three and he doesn't make too many mistakes. His command of the strike zone is pretty good, and his secondary pitches are just nasty."

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Despite falling one strikeout shy of tying the career high he set during last year's no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies, Kershaw's masterful outing brought him that much closer to another impressive distinction. Kershaw, who has allowed one run fewer in all but one of his eight starts since the All-Star break, remains on pace to become just the third pitcher since 1975 to post a second-half ERA below 1.10 (minimum 10 starts).

Pitcher Year ERA K:BB IP (GS)
Clayton Kershaw 2015 1.01 12.67 62 (8)
Kris Medlen 2012 0.94 6.79 95.1 (12)
Roger Clemens 1990 0.97 4.68 92.2 (12)

As for Kershaw's comments from a few days ago? Dodgers manager Don Mattingly isn't at all surprised that his players took the reigning MVP's message to heart.

“When he speaks, guys tend to listen to him because of the respect I think they have for the way he goes about his business,” Mattingly said. “It’s not like he’s not backing it up with work or results.”

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