SAN DIEGO _ Clayton Kershaw was pretty mortal on Saturday night, at least in the inning that turned out to be one too many.
It did not matter in the end, because the Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the San Diego Padres. And it looked just fine in the box score, as Kershaw became the National League's first five-game winner, giving up one run in 71/3 innings of a 10-2 victory.
The Dodgers broke the game open in the ninth inning, when Cody Bellinger chose to make his nightly heroics a grand slam. In his 11 major league games, Bellinger has hit five home runs and driven in 14 runs.
Kershaw's victory did not come easy. By the time he was done, he had made 118 pitches, more than in any start in two years. He had walked four _ all unintentionally, for the first time in four years.
On the other hand, he had avoided injury, nicely sticking the landing of a pirouette he executed to demonstrate his displeasure with plate umpire Toby Basner.
Coming off his second loss of the season, Monday against the San Francisco Giants, Kershaw shut out San Diego for the first seven innings Saturday. In the eighth, pinch-hitter Ryan Schimpf homered, after Kershaw objected to Basner's calls on previous pitches. After a walk and a strikeout, Kershaw bounced ball four when he walked Wil Myers _ but not before jumping off the mound and twirling his body all the way around, expressing his disbelief that Basner had called ball three on what appeared to be strike three.
Pedro Baez got one out, and then Kenley Jansen struck out Hunter Renfroe with the bases loaded. In order to get credit for the save, Jansen had to complete the ninth inning.
He got the first two outs, but he could not get the third. He made 33 pitches, and Chris Hatcher had to relieve him to get the final out.
The Dodgers _ and Padres _ gave Kershaw all the runs he needed in the third inning.
With the game scoreless, Justin Turner singled to start the inning, and Franklin Gutierrez walked. Bellinger hit a ground ball that likely would have been a double play, but the Padres had shifted on him, and so the ball trickled past the shortstop position and into center field. Turner scored, and Gutierrez took third.
Padres catcher Austin Hedges then tried to pick off Gutierrez, but the throw hit Gutierrez, and he scored after the ball caromed off him. Bellinger took second on that throw, stole third _ his first major league stolen base _ when Richard neglected to hold him at second _ and scored on a single by Yasiel Puig.
That made the score 3-0 in the fourth inning. In the fifth, after Richard had walked the bases loaded, Enrique Hernandez doubled home two runs. Richard, one of three veterans signed to $1.75-million contracts to fill the San Diego rotation, gave up five runs, six walks and seven hits in five innings.
Kershaw also benefited from incredible defense, including a laser from center fielder Hernandez to throw out Manuel Margot at first base and a ballet in which shortstop Corey Seager fielded a ground ball deep in the hole, skidded on his knees, scrambled onto his feet and made an off-balance but still strong throw to get Hedges at first base.
Gutierrez left the game in the fifth inning, because of what the Dodgers said was hip tightness. He had been activated Tuesday, after missing 18 games because of a hamstring strain.
The game was played a bit more crisply than Friday night's festival of lethargy. The Dodgers and Padres took four hours and 11 minutes to complete what was the longest nine-inning game in Padres history.
The Dodgers used six pitchers in a four-hitter. They would have used seven, because Jansen was warming up for the bottom of the ninth before the Dodgers scored four insurance runs in the top of the ninth.
"You know what's funny?" Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said.
"I was managing the game. I didn't realize how long that game took. When you're in the game, trying to manipulate and manage through things ... not saying that the people who want the game sped up aren't baseball purists, and I understand the whole majority of people want to see a quicker product, want to see more action, but part of what makes this game great is the strategies.
"Pitchers take more time between pitches. Batters get out of the batter's box in between pitches. There's more pitching changes. There's more specialization."
The late-game slog _ more pitchers, more pitches, and it's not just the Dodgers _ has prompted Commissioner Rob Manfred to consider legislating restrictions on relievers.
"I'm within the rules," Roberts said. "I've got no problem with pace of play or length of time.
"But, standing back, I totally get it. I get it. Two and a half hours to get the same product would be great. For us, on the field, you're trying to win one game in a night, and how can we best do that? For us, time isn't of the essence."
