Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw: Strikes out eight

Kershaw (8-5) allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out eight across six innings to earn the win Thursday against the Cardinals.

Kershaw had little trouble working through the Cardinals' lineup until the fifth inning, when three of the four runs he allowed crossed the plate. The damage began with a Tyson Ross solo home run and continued as the next four batters Kershaw faced reached base. As a result, Kershaw didn't turn in a dominant outing, but he continues to rack up strikeouts, now whiffing one or more batters per inning in seven of his last nine starts.