(2-5). The Reds continue their homestand with the start of a fiv

SAN DIEGO -- After a tough few outings, Clayton Kershaw is backing to pitching at Cy Young form. Kershaw rebounded with seven dominant innings and got two-run homers from Yasiel Puig and A.J. Ellis as the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 on Saturday night. Two days after clinching their first division title since 2009, the Dodgers turned to their ace who delivered a gem as he struck out 10 and allowed just three hits. Kershaw (15-9) lowered his major league-best ERA to 1.88. He leads the NL with 224 strikeouts. The left-hander was held out of his last start on Wednesday to allow him more rest as the playoffs approach. "I felt good, so I guess thats a bonus," Kershaw said. A little bit erratic at first with the fastball but A.J. did a real good job of making me use all my pitches on both sides of the plate." In his previous three September starts, Kershaw wasnt as sharp as normal, going 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA. Kershaw is trying to become the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA in three consecutive seasons since Atlantas Greg Maddux from 1993-95. The last Dodger to finish a season with a sub-2.00 ERA was Sandy Koufax (1.73) in 1966. San Diego had Kershaws number this season, defeating him in all three previous starts. The 2011 Cy Young Award winner was 0-3 with a 4.67 ERA in his first three starts against the Padres, while going 14-6 with a 1.71 ERA in his other starts. "(San Diego) is a tough team. They battle me," Kershaw said. "They put good at-bats on me and always seem to get my pitch count up. I felt good to finally get a win against these guys." Said Padres rookie second baseman Jedd Gyorko: "I think the difference was being able to get those key hits. You cant get him all the time and he kind of got us. Id say our at-bats were just as good as any other game against him. We just couldnt push through." San Diego had runners on first and second in the first with one out and men on second and third with no outs in the third and couldnt score either time against Kershaw. "Theyve been successful against him the last couple of years," Ellis said. "They grind him better than any team hes faced throughout the season. Hes kind of become a one-sided guy against these guys. Fastball in, slider, occasional curveball (with) two strikes. I think he was ready for something different." Ellis homered in the fourth off rookie Burch Smith (1-2). "It was a changeup that was a little bit up that ran into his bat," Smith said. Puig then connected on a shot to centre field off Tim Stauffer in the seventh that was estimated at 457 feet. Kershaw reached on a bunt single to lead off the inning. Kershaw retired 14 of his last 15 batters. Relievers Ronald Belisario and Brian Wilson each pitched a perfect inning for the Dodgers. Los Angeles played all of its starters, except shortstop Hanley Ramirez. The Dodgers held out all of their regulars in a 2-0 loss to the Padres on Friday night, one day after clinching their first division title since 2009. Smith gave up two runs on three hits in six innings. The rookie struck out six and walked a career-high five. NOTES: Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is resting Ramirez to help him recover from back and hamstring injuries that have plagued him throughout the season. Ramirez is expected to see limited playing time before the post-season. ... Dodgers OF Andre Ethier (sprained left ankle) missed his eighth straight game. Ethier, who took batting practice and did running drills before the game, could return when the Dodgers start a three-game series at San Francisco on Tuesday. ... Smiths third-inning single was his first major league hit. ... Dodgers RHP Zack Greinke (15-3, 2.75 ERA) will pitch at Petco Park for the first time since he sustained a broken left collarbone on April 11 during a brawl with Carlos Quentin, who was hit with a pitch and charged the mound. Quentin, who recently had knee surgery, is out of the season. ... RHP Andrew Cashner (10-8, 3.21) pitches for San Diego on Sunday. Womens Bills Jerseys .com Tour title, closing with a 6-under 64 for a four-stroke victory. The 22-year-old former North Texas player finished at 12-under 268 at Panama Golf Club and earned $112,500 to jump from seventh to second on the money list with $171,500. Cheap Bills Jerseys China .3 seconds remaining, and No. 7 North Carolina held off a resilient No. 25 Virginia team, 54-51, on Saturday. John Henson contributed a double-double with 15 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-4, 12-2 ACC), who have won five straight and 10 of 11. http://www.cheapbillsjerseyselite.com/ . It was considered unlikely that Rielly would be loaned to Canada for the tournament, which begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden, though a stretch of three straight games in the press box made it something of a debate. Black Bills Jerseys Shop .S. routed Sweden 7-0 Sunday to win its fourth straight title and seventh overall under-18 world championship. Olson earned his third shutout of the tournament and the Americans allowed only four goals in six games to set an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 record. Blue Bills Jerseys . -- The court fight over NFL concussions should heat up soon as a judge in Philadelphia weighs the fairness of the proposed $765 million settlement. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Jay Bruce had hit the ball hard twice, only to see the worst slump of his career get deeper. He finally ended it with a hit that nobody was going to take away. Bruce emerged from his 0-for-26 skid with a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning on Sunday, rallying Mat Latos and the Cincinnati Reds over the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2. Bruce flied out to the wall in centre field and lined out to centre earlier in the game, so he took a little confidence into his game-changing at-bat. "I knew I wasnt going to go 0-for-my-career," Bruce said. "Id been making hard contact. I really didnt feel like I was 0-for-so-much." The Reds gained a game on the NL Central leaders by taking two of three in their series, moving to six back. Cincinnati has won 10 of 15 overall. "That could have easily gone the other way," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "We really didnt want to lose ground on this team." The Brewers have lost five of six but still have the NLs best record and a comfortable lead. Bruce hit a two-run shot with one out off left-hander Will Smith (1-2), who took over for Yovani Gallardo. Smith hadnt allowed a homer to a left-handed batter all season, holding them to a .143 average. The matchup with the slumping Bruce seemed to favour Milwaukee in every way. "Its a crazy game," Bruce said. "You cant be surprised by anything that happens in the game of baseball." Smith got ahead 1-2 in the count, then threw a fastball that was up. Bruce pulled it to right field, the part of Great American Ball Park closest to the Ohio River. "Hes given a lot of people trouble," Price said of Smith. "He made a mistake. You do that and hes going to hit the ball in that creek out there." A replay review overturned Ramon Santiagos inside-the-park homer in the Reds second. A fan reached his mitt onto the field and hit right fielder Logan Schafers glove as he tried to catch the fly ball in front of the wall. The umpires initially ruled the ball in play, and Santiago circled the bases as Schafer and the ball fell to the ground. Following a 3-minute, 46-second review, Santiago was ruled out because of the fans interference. Latos (2-1) allowed two runs and four hits in a season-high eight innings. Jonathan Broxton pitched the ninth for his sixth save in eight chances. Closer Aroldis Chapman wasnt available because he slightly pulled a hamstring while running in the outfield before the game. Both teams were missing stars. Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun was sidelined by a stiff back that forced him to leave Saturdays game.ddddddddddddManager Ron Roenicke said the problem doesnt appear to be series. Reds first baseman Joey Votto got a day to rest his bothersome left leg. Votto missed 23 games with a strained muscle above his left knee and has batted .250 without a homer since his return. The muscle isnt expected to heal fully until after the season. Latos made his fifth start since recovering from torn knee cartilage and a strained pitching forearm that sidelined him until June 14. He let a 2-0 lead slip away. Schafer tripled and scored on Scooter Gennetts groundout in the sixth. Schafer also doubled off Latos with two outs in the eighth and came around on Rickie Weeks pinch-hit single, making Latos smack his glove in frustration. In his last three starts, Latos has allowed a total of four runs in 22 innings, showing hes fully recovered from the injuries. Devin Mesoraco had three hits, including an RBI single in the first inning off Gallardo, who gave up two runs in seven innings. Gallardo was coming off his worst start of the season: 10 hits, eight runs in five innings of a 10-4 loss to Colorado last Sunday. He settled in after a rough first inning. Bruce grounded into a forceout that drove in a run, and Mesoracos single made it 2-0. NOTES: The Brewers open a seven-game homestand against Philadelphia and St. Louis on Monday. Marco Estrada (7-5) faces Cole Hamels (2-5). The Reds continue their homestand with the start of a five-game series against the Cubs. Mike Leake (6-7), who has won his last three starts against Chicago, faces Edwin Jackson (5-8). ... The Reds put C Brayan Pena on the paternity list and called up C Tucker Barnhart for his third stint this season. ... RHP Raisel Iglesias is guaranteed $26.5 million under his seven-year contract with the Reds and can earn an extra $500,000 this year between his salary of $1,016,666 and a $250,000 reporting bonus if he reports to a minor league affiliate and receives U.S. work authorizations by Aug. 15. He gets a $5 million signing bonus, of which $1.5 million due when the contract is approved by the commissioners office, $1 million on Nov. 15, $1 million on Nov. 15, 2015, and $1.5 million on Nov. 15, 2016. He gets a maximum $500,000 this year between salary and reporting bonus, and salaries of $1 million next year, $2.5 million in 2016, $3.5 million in 2017, $4.5 million in 2018 and $5 million in each of the following two seasons. ' ' '