Dodgers win again when Kershaw bests Kennedy

The list of injured Dodgers keeps growing, with Matt Kemp and Juan Uribe going on the disabled list Monday to join Jerry Hairston Jr. and Juan Rivera, among others.

But the Dodgers’ pitching staff, including Clayton Kershaw, their ace left-hander, largely has steered clear of injury, a key reason why the Dodgers have kept playing well early this season.

Kershaw was stellar again Monday night in a duel with Arizona’s Ian Kennedy, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless in seven innings of work as the Dodgers won, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium.

In capturing the first game of a two-game series with the Diamondbacks, who also have been riddled with injuries, the Dodgers have won five consecutive games and improved their record to 24-11.

But after the game the Dodgers placed Kemp on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore left hamstring, and called up outfielder Jerry Sands from triple-A Albuquerque. Before the game, Uribe went on the DL because of a sore left wrist.

“I want to be out there and help my team win, but we are playing good and they got a win without me,” Kemp said.

The game also featured a brush-back duel within the pitchers’ duel, as Kershaw and Kennedy took turns throwing close to the other when the pitchers were batting.

The exchange stemmed from the last time Kershaw faced the Diamonbacks, on Sept. 14.

In that game, Kershaw hit Gerardo Parra with a pitch and was ejected, one day after Kershaw and other Dodgers had become irate when Parra lingered in the batter’s box to admire a home run.

With that episode not forgotten, Kennedy threw a pitch behind Kershaw in the third inning Monday. Kershaw retaliated in the fifth inning by throwing high and inside to Kennedy. Both benches got a warning from plate umpire Marvin Hudson.

“It’s pretty obvious what they’re doing and I don’t really understand it,” Kershaw said. “Old-school baseball means you don’t carry over things from last year.

“If that’s how they want to do it, that’s fine, but in my opinion there’s no place for that,” he said.

The Dodgers scored in the first inning when Dee Gordon led off with a single, then sprinted all the way to third base on Kennedy’s wild pickoff throw and scored on Mark Ellis’ groundout.

In the third inning, Arizona’s A.J. Pollock singled, stole second base and tried to score on Willie Bloomquist’s single. ButTony Gwynn Jr., playing center field for Kemp, fielded Bloomquist’s ball and made to a perfect throw to get Pollock at the plate.

The Dodgers gave Kershaw added support in the sixth inning when Andre Ethier slugged a home run, his eighth of the year that gave him a league-leading 33 runs batted in.

A.J. Ellisthen singled, took third base on James Loney’s single and scored on Adam Kennedy’s sacrifice fly.

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