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 Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig added three-run homers for the Dodgers,
who increased their lead in the National League West to 3 1/2 games
over San Francisco and clinched a playoff berth when Milwaukee lost
to Pittsburgh later on Friday. Kershaw (20-3) struck out nine and
won his sixth consecutive start to reach the 20-win plateau for the
second time in his career, but allowed three runs on seven hits and
three walks while throwing 106 pitches in only five innings.
Anthony Rizzo doubled and Jorge Soler tripled in a run during a
three-run opening frame for the Cubs, who have dropped 12 of their
last 15 meetings against Los Angeles. Edwin Jackson (6-15), making
his first appearance since missing nearly a month with a right lat
strain, was tagged for five runs in two-thirds of an inning “ his
shortest start since recording one out in a loss to San Diego on
June 13, 2007.
 Los Angeles, which used a five-run rally in the seventh inning to
win Thursday™s series opener, staked Kershaw to a six-run lead
before he took the mound as Kemp stroked his sixth home run in
September and Juan Uribe singled in a run to chase Jackson. Ellis
greeted reliever Eric Jokisch with a two-run shot to center and
answered Chicago™s first-inning surge with another two-run blast off
the left-hander in the third.
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The Dodgers roughed up Dan Straily in the sixth as Ellis walked and
Dee Gordon singled ahead of Puig, who hammered a changeup over the
seats in left for his 15th homer of the season. Hanley Ramirez
doubled in another run moments later and Carl Crawford completed
another six-run frame with a two-run single.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Chicago C Welington Castillo left the game before the
start of the second with a rib contusion after taking a foul tip off
his left side during Crawford™s at-bat in the first. ¦ The Dodgers
improved to 66-0 in Kershaw™s career when giving him four or more
runs of support. ¦ Gordon, who extended his hitting streak to 12
games and posted his seventh consecutive two-hit effort, stole his
league-best 63rd base “ tying Davey Lopes (1976) for fifth place on
the team™s single-season list.
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