CLEVELAND (AP) – Clayton Kershaw wasn’t at his best, but still extended his unbeaten string.
Cody Bellinger continued his outstanding rookie season with two home runs, including a tiebreaking shot in the eighth inning off Andrew Miller.
Kershaw and Bellinger combined to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-5 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.
Kershaw (9-2) allowed two runs in seven innings and has not lost in his last eight starts. The left-hander gave up a run in the third on Michael Brantley’s single and a leadoff homer to Roberto Perez in the fifth that tied the game.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner yielded six hits, struck out four and walked two while throwing 101 pitches. He is 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA since his most recent defeat on May 1.
“Tonight was not a great night for me,” Kershaw said. “My fastball was pretty erratic, and I was falling behind hitters.”
Indians manager Terry Francona did not meet with reporters after the game because he wasn’t feeling well, a team spokesman said. Bench coach Brad Mills took questions in his place. Francona left the dugout in the ninth inning but was still at the ballpark, the spokesman said.
Mills had no further information about Francona, who missed a game in Washington last season because of an illness but returned to the dugout the following day.
Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig made an obscene gesture at Cleveland fans after hitting a home run in the second inning. . After crossing home plate, he raised both middle fingers in the direction of fans seated in the dugout suites located on field level.
Puig said he was heckled in the on-deck circle, which is directly in front of those choice seats.
“People were talking to me before the home run, and they talked to me after the home run,” he said through a translator. “I stooped to their level. It happened suddenly. It came out. There’s nothing I can do about it. There were about four of them. They were pretty close there.”
Puig realizes he could face a fine from Major League Baseball for his actions.
“If I get fined, I can’t not pay it. I know I did it,” he said.
Bellinger led off the eighth with a towering drive into the right-field seats off Miller (3-1). The home run was the first Cleveland’s dominant left-hander has allowed in 33 innings this season.
Bellinger added a three-run drive in the ninth off Boone Logan, becoming the third rookie in Dodgers history to have four multihomer games.
Daniel Robertson hit his first major league home run for Cleveland with two outs in the ninth, a three-run shot off Chris Hatcher. Kenley Jansen struck out Jason Kipnis for his 12th save
Indians starter Trevor Bauer allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He was removed with the bases loaded and Miller, appearing in the sixth inning for the second straight game, struck out Puig to end the threat.
Miller retired the side in order in the seventh, but gave up just his third run of the season when Bellinger homered.
Perez’s home run was his first since he homered twice in Game 1 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs. He hadn’t homered in the regular season since Sept. 26.
LEFTY-LEFTY MATCHUP
Bellinger got a lot of advice from teammates before the game about facing Miller. The first baseman obviously listened well.
“He’s one of the best relievers in the game and is super deceptive,” Bellinger said.
Miller took full blame for the loss.
“Obviously, I didn’t do my part,” he said. “It was just a pretty poor at-bat. It’s easy to look back and see what I could’ve done differently.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: 1B Adrian Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day disabled list with lower back discomfort. An MRI on Monday revealed the five-time All-Star has a herniated disk. He is sidelined indefinitely. … OF Joc Pederson was reinstated from the seven-day concussion disabled list and started in center field, going 0 for 4.
Indians: OF Brandon Guyer (sprained left wrist) is hitting on the field but no date has been set for when he’ll begin a minor league rehab assignment.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy tied his season high by throwing seven innings against the Nationals last Tuesday, but absorbed a 2-1 loss.
Indians: RHP Corey Kluber has made quality starts in 14 of his 16 interleague outings, going 11-3 with a 2.34 ERA.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
