Dodgers push lead to three with 4-2 victory; Clayton Kershaw wins 19th

Darkest before the dawn, or maybe the Dodgers just need a good challenge?

They were certainly handed a difficult task after being blown out by the Giants in the series opener, losing starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu indefinitely in the process and having their division lead cut to a single game. It was nervous time.

But after answering with the biggest shutout (17-0) in the storied history of their rivalry with the Giants on Saturday, the Dodgers came back Sunday to defeat San Francisco in a more traditional manner.

They used the pitching of Clayton Kershaw and the bat of Matt Kemp to down the Giants, 4-2, and head out of the City by the Bay with a three-game lead in the National League West.

There are 13 games left in the regular season, with the Dodgers now firmly in control of their fortunes.

The Dodgers next head to Colorado to play the struggling Rockies for three games, before going to Chicago for four with the Cubs. Then they come home for three more against the Giants.

After the offensive blowouts in the first two games, Sunday brought a comparatively low-scoring affair.

Kershaw went eight innings -- the seventh consecutive start he’s gone at least that far -- becoming the first 19-game winner in the majors.

If it was not exactly Kershaw (19-3) at this best, it was Kershaw at his most competitive. He gave up the two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out nine. Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 42nd save.

The Dodgers gave Kershaw a 2-0 lead to work with in the second inning, helped along by a pair of throwing errors by the Giants. They don’t do the right thing all the time.

San Francisco got one back on Buster Posey’s run-scoring single in the third inning, but when he tried to take second base Posey was thrown out by Yasiel Puig for the third out.

It remained a tense 2-1 game until the sixth inning when Adrian Gonzalez doubled and Kemp launched his 20th home run of the season. Since July 20, Kemp is batting .314 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in 50 games.

The Giants put three singles together in the seventh inning to pull within two, but that was as close as Kershaw and Jansen would allow.

Yusmeiro Petit, who had gone 3-0 in his last three starts, took the loss for the Giants. Petit is no young prospect who’s been coming on for San Francisco. He’s bounced around for 11 years and turns 30 in November.

After Friday’s victory, the Giants had won nine consecutive games at home. Now they’ve lost two straight. The Dodgers won six of nine games at AT&T Park this season.