Clayton Kershaw went five strong innings and Enrique Hernandez drove in the go-ahead run in his return to the starting lineup as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 6-3 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.

Will Smith hit a home run as the Dodgers picked up their second consecutive victory at the start of a six-game homestand and are in line for their second consecutive three-game sweep in a home series.

Kershaw (9-2) gave up one run on two hits as he earned the win in a season-best fifth consecutive start. In his 17th start of the season, Kershaw lowered his ERA to 3.06, while he has fashioned a 1.88 ERA over his five-start winning streak.

Spencer Steer led off the game with a double and scored for the Reds, while Austin Hays hit a two-run home run when it was 6-1 in the seventh. Cincinnati fell to 3-5 in its three-city, nine-game road trip that ends Wednesday.

Reds right-hander Nick Martinez (10-10) gave up four runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.

After they had a chance to tie the New York Mets for the final wild-card spot in the National League last week, the Reds have instead gone 1-5 since and are 3 1/2 games behind the Mets.

The Reds took the early lead against Kershaw when Steer doubled, went to third on an Elly De La Cruz single and scored on a Miguel Andujar ground out.

The Dodgers got even in the bottom of the opening inning when Mookie Betts scored on a Freddie Freeman double and a throwing error from Hays in left field.

The Dodgers made it 2-1 in the fourth when Teoscar Hernandez doubled and later scored on a fly ball from Enrique Hernandez, who had been out since early July with left elbow inflammation.

Smith put the Dodgers up 3-1 in the sixth inning with a home run to right-center, his 16th. Miguel Rojas added a two-run double in the inning and Shohei Ohtani followed with an RBI single.

Hays’ two-run home run came in the seventh, his 11th, against Ben Casparius. Tanner Scott pitched the ninth inning for Los Angeles to earn his 20th save.

–Field Level Media