Finnegan drops duel with Kershaw in LA

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw dominated again Monday night at Dodger Stadium, firing a two-hit shutout in a 1-0 Dodgers win over the Reds, whose losing streak reached eight.

With a third shutout (all this month), Kershaw is 7-1 with a 1.48 ERA, 5-0 in May, and the Dodgers have won nine of his 10 starts this season. He struck out seven and walked one, snapping an MLB-record streak of six consecutive starts with at least 10 strikeouts and no more than one walk. The walk he issued on Monday was only his fifth this year, compared to an MLB-leading 95 strikeouts in 79 innings.

“I don’t think he was too concerned about the record or streak,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “He wanted to lead us to victory, and that’s exactly what he did.”

Kershaw also got a single and went first to third when the Reds got sloppy on defense.

“We talk a lot about Clayton’s preparation and his elevation of people’s games around him,” said Roberts. “But what he does in the batter’s box, on the bases, just his will to be great, seems like every single time he takes the mound he goes Little League on us and does something to help us win and carries us on his shoulders and puts us on his back. We got some hits, but we needed a shutout, and he gave it to us.”

Brandon Finnegan was the tough-luck loser in the pitchers’ duel, throwing the first complete game of his career only to take the loss due to a run that scored in the sixth inning on a walk, an error and a check-swing single. While he only finished with two strikeouts against four walks, he was able to control the outside of the zone and induce weak contact, which led to four …

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