Final: Dodgers 5, Phillies 0
WP: Clayton Kershaw (6-6, 2.85 ERA) LP: Adam Morgan (1-2, 4.32 ERA)
Los Angeles, CA - As expected, the Philadelphia Phillies' (29-58) offense was all but nonexistent in Wednesday evening's matchup against four-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers (48-38).
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Dodgers | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
Tonight's game began rather one-sided, and the entire game for that matter, as it featured the struggle of Phillies' starter Adam Morgan and the dominance of the Dodgers' offense and Kershaw.
While Morgan didn't allow a first inning run despite throwing 30 pitches, he surrendered a two-run and a three-run blast to catcher A.J. Ellis and shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the bottom of the second and third innings respectively.
That would be it scoring-wise for either club, as the Phillies were blanked tonight, 5-0. Kershaw threw a complete-game shutout, his first of the season. He now has 18 career complete games, and 10 shutouts over 227 starts.
Additionally, Kershaw has now tossed 27.2 consecutive scoreless innings against the Phillies, dating back to four starts ago on July 18, 2012. Over his last three outings against the Phils, he has combined for 23.0 innings of work, allowing just 13 hits and four walks while striking out 30 batters.
Tonight's win for the 2014 National League Most Valuable Player snapped a five-start winless streak, and it will go a long way in his campaign to be the Final Vote addition to the 2015 National League All-Roster roster.
Throwing 88 pitches after four innings and allowing five runs, the Phillies' southpaw was pulled in favor of newly recalled right hander Hector Neris. All eight of Morgan's combined earned runs allowed, thus far over three career starts, have come from home runs.
Neris threw two shutout innings, and struck out four batters. He now has thrown 5.2 career innings over four appearances, allowing no runs on five hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
Jake Diekman and Justin De Fratus threw scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth innings. The Phillies' bullpen has now thrown 8.1 consecutive shutout innings of relief, dating back to July 6.
As Todd Zolecki notes, this is the first time the Phillies have been shutout since July 15. Over that stretch, they averaged 4.86 runs per game, which ranked 8th in major league baseball.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Morgan | 4.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4.32 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 9.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2.85 |
- Morgan: L; 88 pitches, 52 strikes; 5 groundouts, 3 flyouts; 21 faced batters
- Kershaw: W; 123 pitches, 92 strikes; 8 groundouts, 1 flyout; 36 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Hector Neris (5th, 6th): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Jake Diekman (7th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.83 ERA
- Justin De Fratus (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.79 ERA
At the Plate
Phillies
- Cesar Hernandez: 0-4, .294 AVG (career-high, 12-game hitting streak ends)
- Freddy Galvis: 2-4, .279 AVG
- Domonic Brown: 2-4, .205 AVG
Dodgers
- Scott Van Slyke: 2-3, 2B, BB, .257 AVG
- Jimmy Rollins: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, .213 AVG
- A.J. Ellis: 3-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, .215 AVG
What's Next
- Thursday, July 9, 2015: at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 pm
- RHP Severino Gonzalez (3-2, 8.28 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Greinke (7-2, 1.48 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
