Brandon Gomes relieved and gave up Mesoracos homer. Me

LOS ANGELES -- Even the red-hot Washington Nationals offence proved no match for Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw pitched eight strong innings for his major league leading 17th win and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals 4-1 Tuesday night. Kershaw (17-3) gave up three hits and one run, walked two and struck out eight to win his third straight start and lower his ML-leading ERA to 1.70. He also went 1 for 2 with a run scored at the plate. "He spoils us, thats for sure," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Hes just so valuable for us." The Nationals came in with 14 home runs in their previous four games, including four against the Dodgers on Monday. Kershaw quickly quieted their bats, working through six shutout innings before giving up a solo homer to Bryce Harper in the seventh, his only blip of the night. It was the first homer hit by a lefty against Kershaw this season. "He just didnt give us any opportunities," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "Thats why hes doing so well. Hes just not making any mistakes." Kershaw retired 12 straight at one point and, with his eight strikeouts, surpassed the 200-strikeout mark for the fifth consecutive season. He joins Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Sutton as the only pitchers in franchise history with at least five seasons of 200 strikeouts. "You always want to be consistent," Kershaw said. "You try to give your team a chance. When you only get to contribute once every five days its important for the starting pitcher to get some momentum." Kershaw was also responsible for jump starting the Dodgers offence. He laced a one-out single to centre in the fifth, advanced to third on Dee Gordons single and scored on Adrian Gonzalezs infield single to break a scoreless tie. "He was impressive all the way around tonight," Mattingly said. "Getting our offence going, going hard first to third on the basepaths, it just shows what a competitor he is." Gordon raced home from second on Gonzalezs single when shortstop Ian Desmonds throw to the plate sailed over the head of catcher Wilson Ramos. Juan Uribe added a two-run homer in the sixth to extend the Dodgers lead to 4-0, and that was enough for Kershaw and closer Kenley Jansen. Jansen came on in the ninth and pitched a hitless frame for his 39th save. Doug Fister (12-6) took the loss for the Nationals. He went five-plus innings, gave up 10 hits, four runs, walked two and struck out two. Gonzalez went 2 for 3 with a walk, Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis both went 2 for 4 and Joc Pederson got his first career hit in his first career start, a bloop single to centre in the second inning off Fister. With the win, the Dodgers (78-61) moved behind the Nationals (78-59) for the National Leagues best record. "We needed to get the W tonight," Kershaw said. "It was good to get it." TRAINERS ROOM Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche sat out Tuesdays game due to lower back stiffness. Kevin Frandsen started at first base in his place. LaRoche is day-to-day. UP NEXT Nationals: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (10-5, 2.93) hasnt lost since July 11. He is 1-0 in two career starts at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers: RHP Carlos Frias (0-0, 5.65) will make his first major league start. The 24-year old rookie has allowed 13 hits and nine runs in 14 1/3 innings with the Dodgers this season. He was primarily a starter in Triple-A, going 8-4 with a 5.01 ERA. Cheick Diallo Suns Jersey . - Aroldis Chapman, with two black eyes, has returned to the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse four days after being hit in the face by a line drive. Jalen Lecque Jersey . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. https://www.thesunslockerroom.com/Aron-Baynes-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Returning to Davis Cup tennis, Federer cruised past Ilija Bozoljac, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in less than two hours. Federer faced little challenge from Bozoljac, who served well but still was no match for his Swiss opponent. Dan Majerle Jersey . Here is a look at all the moves through the first week of NHL Free Agency. The most significant deals will get the full Numbers Game column treatment, like these:Briere-for-Parenteau trade. Ray Spalding Suns Jersey . His Chicago Blackhawks teammates werent shocked when he found it. Kanes career has been defined by his brilliance in the Blackhawks biggest moments, and his tiebreaking goal with 3:45 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals will rank among the best.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Reds went two weeks before breaking out of their hitting slump. Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. The Reds best offensive showing of the season featured Mesoracos three-run homer, Joey Vottos two-run shot and Heiseys pinch-hit slam in the eighth. Jay Bruce doubled, walked four times and scored four runs. The Reds had a brief meeting following a 1-0 loss on Saturday that epitomized their season-long struggle at the plate. "The key early in the season is to not lose faith," manager Bryan Price said. "We understand that were a good team, and everyone in there knows it." For the first time all season, they played like it. The Reds salvaged the final game of their interleague series but remained in last place in the NL Central at 4-8. The hitters have been the biggest problem, tied for last in the majors heading into the game. Zack Cozart got it going with a bases-loaded double off Cesar Ramos (0-1), making his first start of the season because of injuries. The Reds finished with a season high in runs -- they hadnt scored more than six in any previous game -- and hits with 13. "Its so early that you really cant say were not going to hit with runners in scoring position," Mesoraco said. "Weve just got to bear down and try not to do too much." Left-hander Tony Cingrani (1-1) gave up five hits in 6 1-3 innings. Ben Zobrist homered from both sides of the plate, hitting two-run shots off Cingrani and right-hander Nick Christiani. "It was great to see them come through and break out and get five runs (early)," Cingrani said. "It was just a matter of time. Weve got a great hitting lineup. Today was the day they broke out of it." The Rays are 3-3 on a trip that has been tough on their rotation. Matt Moore went on the disabled list with a sore elbow on Tuesday, and Alex Cobb joinedd him Sunday with a strained oblique.dddddddddddd. Also, reliever Joel Peralta was sick, leaving him unavailable. The injuries affected the final game of the series. Ramos, who had made four relief appearances this season, started in Moores place and helped the Reds offence get unstuck. "One of those days, man," manager Joe Maddon said. "You just file it and move on. This is less than the 30-minute rule. This is the 30-second rule. Just drop it and move on." Cincinnati came into the game tied with San Diego for fewest runs in the majors with 28. Ramos helped the Reds by walking the bases loaded in the second, and Cozart hit a ground-rule double for his third hit of the season and a 2-0 lead. Vottos second homer of the series sparked a 10-batter, five-run third inning. Ramos left after throwing 47 pitches. Brandon Gomes relieved and gave up Mesoracos homer. Mesoraco added a sacrifice fly in the fifth. The catcher opened the season on the disabled list with a strained oblique. In four games the past week, he went 7 for 14 with three doubles, two homers and six RBIs. Heisey connected in the eighth off Josh Lueke for his seventh career pinch-hit homer. NOTES: The Rays open a three-game series in Baltimore on Monday, starting Chris Archer (1-0) against Wei-Yin Chen (1-1). ... The Reds continue their six-game homestand by hosting Pittsburgh. Homer Bailey (0-1), who has won his last five starts against the Pirates, goes against Wandy Rodriguez (0-2). ... Rays called up LH reliever Jeff Beliveau from Triple-A Durham to fill Cobbs roster spot and sent him back after the game. LH Erik Bedard, who also was added to the roster on Sunday, will take Cobbs spot in the rotation for now. ... It was Zobrists fourth career multihomer game. ... Maddon batted Ramos eighth, figuring that hed have to pinch-hit for him early anyway. ... Reds starter Mat Latos was diagnosed with a sprained right forearm. He wont throw for 10 to 14 days. ... Third base umpire Tim Welke was honoured before he worked his 4,000th regular-season game. ' ' '