LOS ANGELES _ Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling navigated his way through a two-hit, one-walk opening act to throw five shutout innings on Saturday, and three relievers blanked the Boston Red Sox over the final four innings of a 3-0 victory in Dodger Stadium.
Stripling, spot-starting for the injured Bud Norris, gave up four hits, struck out four and walked one. Grant Dayton, a 28-year-old left-hander who has spent seven years in the minor leagues, looked dominant in two scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one.
Setup man Joe Blanton gave up a single in a scoreless eighth, and closer Kenley Jensen struck out the side in the ninth for his 33rd save, which ranks second in the National League.
Stripling, facing a potent Red Sox lineup that leads the major leagues in runs and on-base-plus-slugging percentage, did some of his best work in the first inning after Mookie Betts and Brock Holt opened the game with singles.
Xander Bogaerts, who entered with a .320 average, 14 homers and 67 runs batted in, struck out on a 2-and-2 curve in the dirt. David Ortiz (.311, 25 homers, 87 RBIs) grounded sharply to the right side where Howie Kendrick, making a rare start at second base after starting in left field in 17 of 18 games since the All-Star break, smothered the ball with a diving stop to his left and threw to first for the out.
Jackie Bradley walked to load the bases. Sandy Leon, who drove in four runs Friday night, worked a full count before tapping Stripling's 25th pitch of the inning back to the mound for the third out.
Stripling needed only 50 pitches to complete the next four innings, in which he gave up only two singles and retired the side in order in the second and fifth innings.
The Dodgers were shut out Friday night by knuckleballer Steven Wright and were probably not looking forward to facing left-handers Eduardo Rodriguez on Saturday and David Price on Sunday.
The Dodgers entered Saturday with a 12-14 record against left-handed starters and a .224 average, .301 on-base percentage and .361 slugging percentage against all left-handers. They were 48-35 against right-handed starters with a .252/.323/.412 slash line.
The three runs and eight hits the Dodgers posted in 4 1/3 innings against Rodriguez was hardly a pummeling, but it was enough to give their bullpen a decent cushion to work with.
The left-handed-hitting Adrian Gonzalez had three singles off Rodriguez, one to spark a rally in the second inning and one to cap a rally in the fifth.
Enrique Hernandez followed Gonzalez's leadoff single to left in the second with a single to left. Josh Reddick flied to center, and Scott Van Slyke struck out, but A.J. Ellis looped a broken-bat, run-scoring single to left for a 1-0 lead.
Pinch-hitter Chris Taylor led off the fifth with a single to left, and Kendrick walked. Corey Seager doubled into the right-field corner for a 2-0 lead, his 31st double of the season breaking Eric Karros' rookie record of 30, set in 1992.
Justin Turner grounded out, the runners holding at second and third, but Gonzalez, with the infield in, blooped an RBI single to shallow center for a 3-0 lead.
