Kershaw (9-7) allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out 13 across eight innings, earning the win over the Cubs on Sunday.
Kershaw struck out a season-high 13 batters in his longest start of the campaign. He induced 22 swinging strikes on his slider, tied for the highest mark on the pitch in his career. The lone run he allowed came on a fourth-inning solo shot by Javier Baez. The future Hall of Famer is third in baseball with 102.1 innings pitched, showing that he is still very reliable and capable of a quality performance each time he steps on the mound. He has pitched at least six innings in each of his last nine starts. The 33-year-old has a 3.25 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP with a 10.9 K/9 in 2021.