Clayton Kershaw went five strong innings and Enrique Hernandez drove in the go-ahead run in his return to the starting lineup as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 6-3 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.
Will Smith hit a home run as the Dodgers picked up their second consecutive victory at the start of a six-game homestand and are in line for their second consecutive three-game sweep in a home series.
Kershaw (9-2) gave up one run on two hits as he earned the win in a season-best fifth consecutive start. In his 17th start of the season, Kershaw lowered his ERA to 3.06, while he has fashioned a 1.88 ERA over his five-start winning streak.
Spencer Steer led off the game with a double and scored for the Reds, while Austin Hays hit a two-run home run. Cincinnati fell to 3-5 in their three-city, nine-game road trip that ends Wednesday.
Reds right-hander Nick Martinez (10-10) gave up four runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.
After they had a chance to tie the New York Mets for the final wild-card spot in the National League last week, the Reds have instead gone 1-5 since and are four games behind the Mets.
The Reds took the early lead against Kershaw when Steer doubled, went to third on an Elly De La Cruz single and scored on a Miguel Andujar ground out.
The Dodgers got even in the bottom of the opening inning when Mookie Betts scored on a Freddie Freeman double and a throwing error from Hays in left field.
The Dodgers made it 2-1 in the fourth when Teoscar Hernandez doubled and later scored on a fly ball from Enrique Hernandez, who had been out since early July with left elbow inflammation.
Smith put the Dodgers up 3-1 in the sixth inning with a home run to right-center, his 16th. Miguel Rojas added a two-run double in the inning and Shohei Ohtani followed with an RBI single.
Hays’ two-run home run came in the seventh, his 11th, against Ben Casparius. Tanner Scott pitched the ninth inning for Los Angeles to earn his 20th save.
