DENVER — Clayton Kershaw threw six effective innings, Kenta Maeda finished the ninth in place of All-Star closer Kenley Jansen and the Los Angeles Dodgers crept closer to the NL West-leading Colorado Rockies with a 4-2 win on Friday night.
Yasiel Puig homered and had an RBI single for the Dodgers, who climbed within a half-game of the Rockies as they began a pivotal three-game series. This is the latest into the season the Rockies have been alone in first place since 1995.
Kershaw (7-5) baffled the Rockies even if he didn't have his best stuff. The left-hander allowed two runs and six hits as he improved to 22-7 in 39 career starts against Colorado, with a 3.