Clayton Kershaw gets hot, Chris Heisey gets slam in Dodgers’ 6-3 win

There they were, toe to toe in the dugout, left-hander Clayton Kershaw as heated as he’s ever been and Manager Don Mattingly calmly not budging. Both doing exactly what you would hope.

Mattingly had lifted Kershaw for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday afternoon, the Dodgers trailing 3-0. His ace had thrown 80 pitches and he was trying to save him for postseason innings to come.

Kershaw, ever the competitor, was not the least interested in coming out and let Mattingly know it in a head-bobbing, angry confrontation.

But the decision had been made, Mattingly resolute, and so naturally you know what happened next.

The Dodgers rallied in the bottom of the inning for six runs -- four coming on a Chris Heisey grand slam and two on a Howie Kendrick bases-loaded single -- to beat the Diamondbacks, 6-3, leaving Kershaw with the victory and reducing the Dodgers’ magic number for clinching the division to four.

What little emotion these Dodgers have demonstrated this season has more often than not come from Kershaw. It was Kershaw who called out his team for playing without a sense of urgency after being swept in Houston, which coincidental or not, did coincide with the Dodgers turning their season around.

Thursday was not his best start of the year -- he had surrendered the three runs on six hits, including a home run to Brandon Drury -- but he had walked only one and struck nine.

Kershaw was not about to give in to the Diamondbacks. So when Mattingly told him he was going to hit for him with Austin Barnes to start the bottom of the fifth, an angered Kershaw let Mattingly know exactly how he felt about it. And then he let him know a little more.

But as Kershaw sat in the dugout, still steaming, the Dodgers started to rally against Patrick Corbin. A single by Justin Ruggiano and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Kendrick, who lined his two-run single to center.

After reliever Andrew Chafin struck out Scott Van Slyke and walked A.J. Ellis to load the bases, Heisey connected on his second career grand slam, this one a veritable liner that hooked into the seats next to the Dodgers bullpen.

Ruggiano found Kershaw in the dugout and gave him a giant bear hug and induced a smile. Kershaw high-fived Heisey. If all was not quite forgiven, it certainly felt a lot better.

With the victory, Kershaw’s record went to 15-7, although his ERA was left at 2.25. That means he won’t be able to finish the season with a sub-2.00 ERA for a third consecutive year.

Kershaw does lead the majors with 281 strikeouts, but since he only figures to have two more starts -- and his last could be a short tune-up for the postseason -- he is unlikely to become the first Dodger since Sandy Koufax in 1966 to reach 300 strikeouts in a season (and the first in the majors since 2002).

The Dodgers’ inconsistent bullpen turned in a second consecutive strong performance after Kershaw was lifted. Juan Nicasio, J.P. Howell, Yimi Garcia, Chris Hatcher and Kenley Jansen combined to hold Arizona scoreless during the final four innings. Jansen earned his 34th save.