LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw bounced back from the shortest start of his brief career with eight innings of two-hit ball, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.
Kershaw (2-2) held the Rockies to a pair of infield hits including a bunt single by cleanup hitter Troy Tulowitzki and picked off Eric Young after walking him with two out in the fifth. The 22-year-old left-hander struck out nine, walked three and fanned five-time All-Star Todd Helton his first three times up.
Last Tuesday, Kershaw retired only four of the 13 batters he faced, lasted just 1 1/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. He was charged with seven runs during a nine-run second.
Russell Martin homered with two out in the eighth against Matt Daley and Jonathan Broxton allowed two hits in the ninth before picking up his third save in five attempts.
Ubaldo Jimenez (6-1) gave up only two hits over seven innings before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. The only run against the Colorado starter came in the third, when Blake DeWitt led off with a double and scored on a ground single by Jamey Carroll that deflected off Jimenez's glove and into right field.
Jimenez walked four and struck out five, including major league batting leader Andre Ethier his first three times up. The right-hander, whose ERA actually increased from 0.87 to 0.93, was trying to become the first Rockies pitcher to get off to a 7-0 start.
Reliever Gabe White is the only other pitcher in the franchise's 18-year history to win his first six decisions in a season, finishing the 2000 campaign with an 11-2 record.
Kershaw needed 30 pitches to get out of a scoreless first, which ended when Ian Stewart took a called third strike on a borderline pitch on the inside corner with the bases loaded.
Tulowitzki left the game in the bottom of the fifth with a right quad strain after hurting himself taking a throw from Jimenez on a fielder's choice comebacker by Carroll and trying to complete a double play.
Notes
Helton has yet to hit a home run after 27 games and 100 at-bats, his longest drought from the start of a season. His previous worst was in 1998, his first full year in the big leagues, when he came up empty in his first 98 at-bats and still finshed with 25 homers. … Colorado RF and RBI leader Carlos Gonzalez returned to his native Venezuela for the funeral of his uncle. … Jimenez, who pitched the first no-hitter Rockies history on April 17 at Atlanta, has thrown 48 1/3 innings this season without allowing a home run. Last year he opened the season with a homerless streak of 42 1/3 innings, which was snapped by Pittsburgh's Nate McLouth. … Stewart is 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in bases-loaded situations this season. … Dodgers manager Joe Torre said RHP Charlie Haeger has a problem with his pushoff heel, which might have contributed to the knuckleballer's failure to retire any of the five batters he faced in Saturday night's start.