Clayton Kershaw tossed a three-hitter, Yasmani Grandal hit a three-run homer and Chase Utley added a solo shot to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets 5-0 Thursday night for a split of the four-game series.
Making his 250th career start, Kershaw (5-1) struck out 13 on 108 pitches and walked one to win his third straight. It was the left-hander's fifth straight start with double-digit strikeouts, a club record. It was also his second shutout this month. He beat San Diego 1-0 on May 1.
The Dodgers jumped on Bartolo Colon (3-2) with four runs in the first inning. Their first run came on Justin Turner's RBI single before Grandal homered off a 2-0 pitch into the right-field pavilion, making it 4-0 on his third homer of the season.
Chase Utley added a two-out homer in the second for a 5-0 lead.
Kershaw dominated in a matchup featuring pitchers with a combined four Cy Young Awards between them, with three belonging to the Dodgers ace. He improved to 7-0 with 74 strikeouts in 10 regular season starts against the Mets.
The Dodgers came in averaging 2.69 runs at home after averaging 4.2 last year, but they delivered early support for Kershaw.
Colon gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings, struck out three and walked none. In his last start, the 42-year-old became the oldest pitcher to homer in the major leagues with a stunning shot in San Diego last week.
