LOS ANGELES - Clayton Kershaw's hip felt fine and his pitching was solid too, keeping the Los Angeles Dodgers as close as possible to a postseason berth.
Kershaw struck out 10 batters over eight innings and Shane Victorino hit a three-run homer- the 90th of his career, tying the record for Hawaii-born major leaguers - in the Dodgers' 8-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday.
Los Angeles remained three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the second National League wild-card spot.
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The Dodgers’ Shane Victorino watches his home run off the Rockies’ Jeff Francis during the second inning of Los Angeles’ 8-5 victory over Colorado on Friday.
AP photo
Victorino hit his 11th homer of the year in the second inning, and finished 2-for-4.
The 31-year-old St. Anthony High School graduate was dealt to the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies earlier this season, his ninth in the majors. He made his debut with the San Diego Padres.
Lum played for the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs from 1967 to 1981. Born in Honolulu, his 431 career RBIs are the record for players from the Aloha State. Victorino is second on the list with 409, while his 1,053 hits, 614 runs and 200 stolen bases rank first - his 38 steals this year are a career high.
Victorino, a career .275 hitter, is the only Maui-born All-Star in major league history, and the only position player from Hawaii ever selected for the game.
Kershaw (13-9) lowered his NL-leading ERA to 2.58. His 221 strikeouts are one behind the New York Mets' R.A. Dickey for the league lead.
"We pretty much need to win out," said Kershaw, last season's NL Cy Young winner. "We're playing great baseball now. We can't really worry about St. Louis. Obviously we're watching."
Kershaw pitched on his regular five days' rest after going 12 days between starts leading up to his previous outing on Sept. 23 due to a sore hip.
He said his hip felt good, adding, "I can't explain it. Just being back on a regular routine helps."
Josh Wall completed the shutout with a perfect ninth.
Jeff Francis (5-7) allowed five runs in four innings, falling to 0-3 in his last six starts. The left-hander hasn't won since Aug. 27 against the Dodgers.
"I don't know if they had a different approach than the last time. I threw the ball exactly the same way I did then," he said. "I just think they took advantage of a couple of mistakes and they didn't miss them."
