Dodgers pulling away in West after Clayton Kershaw gem

There were no crazy dog piles atop the pitcher’s mound, no champagne bottles in the home clubhouse, no “We Won the West” T-shirts waiting for the players at their lockers.

The Dodgers wouldn’t dare say it, but a raucous crowd at Dodger Stadium sure thought it. The Dodgers just might have clinched the National League West on Wednesday, completing a sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 2-1 victory, powered by a 132-pitch masterpiece from Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers lead the Giants by 61/2 games, with 30 to play. No team in the National League has a larger division lead than the Dodgers, winners of eight of their last nine games.

If the Dodgers were to play .500 ball the rest of the way, the Giants would have to go 21-8 to force a tie in the NL West. The Dodgers and Giants have four games left against each other, in San Francisco during the final week of the regular season.

“I’d expect those four games up in San Fran to matter,” Kershaw said.

On Wednesday, Kershaw mattered.

In this era when six innings is considered a quality start, Kershaw threw his third complete game in his last 10 starts. He scattered six hits and tied a career high with 15 strikeouts, setting a career high with 251 strikeouts — the most by a Dodgers pitcher since Sandy Koufax struck out 317 in 1966.

He heard “M-V-P” chants when he batted in the eighth inning, and when he took the mound in the ninth. He would not leave before he had secured the final out, even as he tied his career high with 132 pitches.

“That’s just the MVP doing MVP things,” pitcher Brett Anderson said.

Closer Kenley Jansen was not available, but Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly acknowledged that the chance to push the Giants deeper into the standings also played a role in his decision to let Kershaw finish. This, Mattingly said, is why he sometimes pulls Kershaw before his ace is exhausted.

“It’s for games like this,” Mattingly said. “Trying to save the bullets.”

Chase Utley brought the crowd to life, hitting his first home run with the Dodgers and breaking a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning. That put the Dodgers nine outs away from the sweep, and Kershaw took it from there.

“It was a lot of fun tonight,” he said, “playing against the Giants and trying to sweep them.”

In his last 10 starts, Kershaw is 7-0 with an earned-run average of 0.90. In 80 innings, he has walked seven and struck out 104. He lowered his overall ERA to 2.18, third in the major leagues behind teammate Zack Greinke (1.59) and no-hit man Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs (2.11).

The evening appeared to take an ominous turn for the Dodgers in the fourth inning when third baseman Justin Turner, their cleanup batter, was hit on the hand by a pitch. However, he remained in the game. Turner said his pinkie was numb for a couple innings, but he was confident he would play Thursday.

As the Dodgers prepared to take the field, the voice of the Dodgers sounded a note of caution.

“I don’t take the numbers that seriously,” Vin Scully told the Dodger Stadium crowd. “I remember 1951.”

In that season — the second in Scully’s 66-year run — the Giants made up 13 games on the Dodgers.

Carl Crawford said he thought the Giants still were “in striking distance, in my mind.”

Said Kershaw: “Six and a half up doesn’t really mean anything.”

However, if the Giants were to sweep the Dodgers in San Francisco, they still would have to find another way to make up 21/2 games. That the Dodgers appear to be playing their best ball of the season now might be the best sign yet that this race is all but over, even if the Dodgers won’t say so.

“We’re a good team,” Kershaw said. “We’re starting to play like it day in and day out.”

Up next

Mat Latos (4-9, 4.76 ERA) faces the Padres’ Colin Rea (2-2, 5.95) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at San Diego’s Petco Park. TV: SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 1020.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

Twitter: @BillShaikin

MORE ON THE DODGERS:

Dad has Mike Bolsinger’s back regarding Dodgers

Watch T-Pain sing national anthem beautifully, without auto-tune

If Don Mattingly is in demand, how will he and the Dodgers respond?