Kershaw shuts out Phillies in 10th straight win for Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher on Earth and the Los Angeles Dodgers never seem to lose games. Those two simple facts were prominently on display on Saturday night, and the Philadelphia Phillies felt the brunt of both of them.

Kershaw tossed 8 shutout innings of brilliant baseball, allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8 over 100 pitches. This type of dominance is nothing new for Kershaw who, despite just a 12-7 win-loss record, leads the NL in ERA with a dazzling 1.80 mark. In addition to his stellar pitching, the young left-hander also added an RBI double to “help his own cause”, but even the 2nd run of the game (which scored on the play) was a pure insurance run thanks to his incredible pitching.

The list of superlatives for both Kershaw and the Dodgers can be extremely long at this point, but there is one stat that is jumping off of the page. In addition to Saturday’s win being the 10th consecutive victory for the Dodgers, Los Angeles has now 42 of their last 50 games.

Yes, 42 wins in 50 games. 

For reference, that 42-8 mark ties the Dodgers for the best 50-game effort in the last 100 years, and the .840 winning percentage is the stuff of legend. As the Dodgers run away with the NL West (they now lead by 8.5 games despite a dismal start to the season), it is now time to just marvel at the excellence of both Kershaw and the rest of the team. The story lines are endless, but at this point, the focus is shifting toward October for the juggernaut that Los Angeles has become.