Clayton Kershaw dominates Giants, 8-0, Dodgers clinch third consecutive National League West Division title

Clayton Kershaw raised his arms toward the heavens and smiled.

The Dodgers were again the champions of the National League West.

The most expensive team in baseball history did what was expected of them when the regular season started, securing a third consecutive division title Tuesday night with an 8-0 victory over the second-place San Francisco Giants.

If the Dodgers’ uninspiring performances over the last 10 days elicited skepticism about what they might do in the postseason, this game offered a reminder of why they are World Series contenders.

Whatever their faults, they still have Kershaw.

Retiring the final 19 batters, Kershaw delivered his most dominating performance of the season in what was arguably his most important start, throwing a one-hit shutout to officially end the Giants’ reign as World Series champions.

“He did the kind of things that aces do,” first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. “He won the game for us.”

Kershaw (16-7) had 13 strikeouts, increasing his major league-leading total to 294. With presumably one more regular-season start remaining, he is in position to become the first pitcher to record a 300-strikeout season since Randy Johnson in 2002.

Kershaw might not win a fourth Cy Young Award this season, but he has earned a chance at October redemption.

His face covered in champagne and beer in the postgame locker-room celebration, Kershaw said, “Getting to win a third division in three years is something that’s pretty special. But at the same time, it’s a start.”

The victory was evidence of how Kershaw remains the team’s most valuable player.

The Dodgers had lost eight of their previous 10 games, including the last four. Their magic number to win the division had remained stuck at two for the last three days.

Their first seven games at AT&T Park this season ended in defeat.

“I honestly didn’t want to lose this game tonight and let the thing build,” Manager Don Mattingly said.

Kershaw wouldn’t let that happen.

“If you don’t win this one, then you have two more,” Kershaw said. “You start getting a little nervous. You start panicking a little bit.”

Kershaw shouldered the added burden of pitching opposite Madison Bumgarner, a fellow left-hander well known for doing in October what Kershaw has done in the regular season.

Kershaw and Bumgarner had started against each other three times this season. The Giants won all three games.

None of that mattered Tuesday night.

Kershaw pitched as if AT&T Park was his home.

The only hit he gave up was an opposite-field single to Kevin Frandsen in the third inning. Kershaw walked Angel Pagan later in the inning, but he ended the threat by forcing Kelby Tomlinson to hit a comebacker.

The Dodgers also did their parts at the plate.

Utility man Enrique Hernandez, who returned from the disabled list the previous day, led off the game with a single and advanced to third base when Giants second baseman Tomlinson mishandled a grounder by Howie Kendrick. Hernandez scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Turner to move the Dodgers in front, 1-0.

Hernandez doubled the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0 when he blasted a solo home run in the third inning.

The Dodgers wore down Bumgarner in the fifth inning. Kershaw had a 13-pitch at-bat. Hernandez reached on a two-out error by shortstop Brandon Crawford that extended the inning. Though the Dodgers failed to score any runs, they forced Bumgarner to throw 31 pitches, running up his pitch count to 100.

“I feel like we made him work for his outs,” Mattingly said.

The payoff came in the sixth inning, when Justin Ruggiano and A.J. Ellis hit back-to-back home runs to extend the lead to 4-0.

Bumgarner didn’t make it out of that inning. He pitched 52/3 innings and was charged with four runs (three earned) and five hits.

The possibility of a San Francisco comeback vanished in the eighth inning, when the Dodgers scored four more runs, including two on a triple by pinch-hitter Andre Ethier. With Corey Seager and Ellis also driving in runs on singles, the Dodgers were now up, 8-0.

When Kershaw finished off the Giants, for the first time in franchise history the Dodgers would be playing postseason baseball for the third consecutive year.

Their National League division series against the New York Mets will start Oct. 9.

“We’ve done this now three times in a row,” Kershaw said. “We’d like to get a little further, obviously, but tonight’s a night for celebrating.”

Up next

Right-hander Mike Bolsinger (6-5, 3.48 ERA) will face right-hander Mike Leake (10-10, 3.89) and the Giants on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. TV: ESPN, SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 1020.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

Twitter: @dylanohernandez