Although there weren’t many, there were some positive takeaways from the Dodgers (and Clayton Kershaw’s) bitter 4-3 loss to The Hated Ones on Monday night. The obvious ones are Dodgers rookie left fielder Cody Bellinger going 2-for-4 that included a ground rule double and yet another perfectly executed bunt to beat the defensive shift, and scoring two runs to up his week-old major league slash-line to a very respectable .320 / .393 / .600 with an excellent .993 OPS.

You can bet that word is spreading quickly among MLB advance scouts about Bellinger’s incredible ability to push a bunt down the third base line to beat the shift.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Another was Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner’s absolutely brilliant diving stop and subsequent throw to first base from his knees in foul territory to rob Giants center fielder Drew Stubbs of an RBI double and nail him at first base.

Wow … just wow.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

But perhaps the greatest takeaway from an otherwise depressing game was when Bellinger slid into home to score the Dodgers’ then-tying second run while adhering to the so-called “Posey Rule” against (wait for it…) Buster Posey.

Oh, the irony.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Even though Giants left fielder Gorkys Hernandez’s throw to the plate was off line to the right, under the pre-Posey Rule rules, the Giants catcher would have been permitted to block the plate, which absolutely would have prevented the head-first-sliding Bellinger from being able to touch home plate. But because Posey had to allow Bellinger a pathway to the plate, Belly’s belly-flop slide allowed him to touch home plate before Posey’s tag on a very close play. Fortunately, home plate umpire Alan Porter was literally right there to witness the play; a play that Giants manager Bruce Bochy wisely elected not to challenge, as he clearly would have lost the challenge.

While Dodger fans are undoubtedly still bummed at Monday night’s loss which dropped Kershaw’s record to 4-2 and raised his ERA to a horrendous 2.61 ERA (yes, I’m being facetious), Kershaw’s un-Kershaw-like outing is the exception and not the rule. And you can bet that there is nobody… absolutely nobody who wants the Dodgers ace to get back out there on the mound than Kershaw himself.