It was brief, it was concise, it was direct and is was pure Clayton Kershaw when he was asked if he was disappointed that his consecutive scoreless innings streak ended at 41.2 in Thursday night’s 2-1 complete game win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.

“I was disappointed I gave up a homer,” said Kershaw after the game. “I don’t really care about a streak. We’re not supposed to give up runs, that’s our job. More than anything it tied the game.”

If you were expecting anything different from the two-time and defending NL Cy Young Award winner you don’t know Clayton Kershaw, and apparently this was the case for one unfortunate reporter who must not have understood what brief, concise and direct meant and asked Kershaw about the streak again.

“I’m not going to answer that anymore, I’m sorry. It’s about the game, I don’t really care about the streak.”

There were no more questions about the streak.

Game face.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The homer that Kershaw spoke of was a solo shot over the left-center field wall by Padres third baseman Chase Headley with one out in the top of the sixth inning that tied the game 1-1. It was the Padres only run of the night and one of only three hits that Kershaw allowed.

The Dodgers scored the first of their two runs in the fourth inning on a routine base hit to left by Yasiel Puig who legged it into a stand-up double. This was followed by a ground out to first base by Adrian Gonzalez to advance Puig to third. Puig then scored on an bloop single to right by Scott Van Slyke. The second run came after a Hanley Ramirez leadoff single to right in the sixth inning. Ramirez then stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal. Ramirez scored on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez.

Although the 50,332 in attendance were disappointed when Kershaw’s streak ended on the Headley home run, they greeted him with a standing ovation as he walked off the field when the inning ended.

“That’s really cool to know that they know what’s going on and they have a feeling for it, and kind of appreciate what you’re doing,” said Kershaw. “That’s really cool.”

It was Kershaw’s third complete game of the season and the 14th of his career. He struck out 11 on the night while walking only one.

With the complete game, Kershaw has now pitched 96.1 innings which (finally) qualifies him for MLB’s stats. In doing so, he immediately took over the lead in the MLB with his 1.78 ERA – exactly 0.01 better that Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. He is also now tied with Wainwright and teammate Zack Greinke for second in the National League in wins with 11 – one behind Reds right-hander Alfredo Simon. Kershaw, however, has only two losses compared to three by Simon, four by Wainwright and five by Greinke. With his 11 additional strikeouts Kershaw is now fourth in the league with 126 – one behind Greinke and 14 behind Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who leads the NL with 140… for the time being.

With the win and the Giants losing to the Oakland A’s earlier in the day, the Dodgers now have a one-game lead of their arch rival for first place in the NL West. The Dodgers have three more games against the Padres while the Giants host the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park before the All-Star break.