ough in the tank for a 7-3 victory that keeps alive his play-off hope

Its been nearly two months since Clayton Kershaw last took the mound for Los Angeles, and whats happened in his absence has been pretty encouraging for the Dodgers.Kershaws last appearance came in a loss to Pittsburgh on June 26, and Los Angeles trailed San Francisco by eight games in the NL West following that game. Since then, the Dodgers are 27-19 without their ace -- and they now lead the division by a half-game. Kershaws herniated disk was the type of injury that could have derailed his teams entire season, but the Dodgers have been able to withstand it so far.Were right where we need to be in the race coming into September, manager Dave Roberts said. I feel fortunate. Am I surprised? No. With the players we have in that clubhouse, Im not. Our guys are focused on winning baseball games. Thats what we need to do moving forward.Kershaw is 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA. He has 145 strikeouts and nine walks. Baseball-Reference.com ranks him No. 1 in the National League in wins above replacement (WAR) this year, even though hes thrown only 121 innings. Its hard to overstate what the Dodgers are losing by not having him available.And yet Los Angeles never faded from postseason contention. In fact, its the Giants who have been thoroughly mediocre for the last couple months, squandering their division lead.For the Dodgers, rookie shortstop Corey Seager leads an infield that also includes offensive threats like Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez. The rotation clearly misses Kershaw -- not to mention Zack Greinke, who left as a free agent -- but Kenta Maeda has been solid, and rookie Juilo Urias has made a contribution.If Kershaw does come back soon, it will be to a team thats in much better shape than the one he left.Here are a few other developments from around baseball:SNAPPEDWashingtons Jayson Werth had his streak of 46 games reaching base end Friday night. The last time Werth had failed to reach base was June 19, but during his streak, his batting average went up only six points from .250 to .256.His on-base percentage, on the other hand, increased from .318 to .346.DEFENDING THE CROWNCount out the Royals at your peril. Kansas City has won eight games in the row and is now only 3 + games behind a wild card. Danny Duffy won his 10th straight decision Sunday.Five of Kansas Citys eight wins in its streak have come against last-place Minnesota, but the Royals also took three straight from a Detroit team that had been playing well.FANTASY FOCUSYulieski Gurriel was called up from the minors by the Houston Astros on Sunday and singled in his first big league at-bat. He finished 1 for 2 with a walk and a groundout, although he left the game with hamstring tightness.The Astros have high hopes for Gurriel, and fantasy owners will be pleased with the idea that he could play multiple positions.LINE OF THE WEEKKris Bryant went 5 for 5 with two homers and five RBI on Thursday to lead the Chicago Cubs over Milwaukee 9-6. Bryant is second in the NL in homers and first in runs, and with the Cubs running away with the NL Central, he should be a definite factor in the MVP race.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtristerVans Shoes NZ Store . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Discount Vans Shoes NZ . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. http://www.vanssalenz.com/ .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Vans Shoes NZ Online . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Wholesale Shoes NZ . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set.Michael van Gerwen recorded another superb average as he beat Dave Chisnall to stay top of the Premier League after Night Six in Nottingham.The world number one posted a world-record TV average a couple of weeks ago and has vowed to beat the 123.4 that he set against Michael Smith.At times on Thursday, the brilliant Dutchman looked like threatening that but in the end, he had to settle for an average of 113 and a 7-2 victory over Chisnall in the final game of the evening, which ensured he ended the night top of the table. Premier League Night Six - Results Michael Smith 3-7 Gary Anderson Peter Wright 3-7 Adrian Lewis Raymond van Barneveld 5-7 James Wade Robert Thornton 0-7 Phil Taylor Dave Chisnall 2-7 Michael van Gerwen Chizzy was able to keep pace in the early stages but could do nothing to match the relentless scoring power of Van Gerwen, who pulled clear in legs four and five with finishes of 111 and 100 that saw his average hovering around the 120 mark.A couple of below-par visits ensured it was not to be another record-breaking night for Van Gerwen but he was happy enough with the win and more than happy to take top spot from Phil Taylor ahead of their showdown in Glasgow next week. The Power had hit the top of the standings after a whitewash of Robert Thornton in the nights penultimate match.Thornton has had his struggles this season and remains winless after coming up against a ruthless Taylor, who admitted afterwards he is relishing the prospect of meeting Van Gerwen in Scotland next week. Premier League recap Night Six as it happened in Nottingham Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright slugged it out in a high-calibre affair, Wright ending up on the wrong side of another defeat despite an average of 106.Snakebite lost to Van Gerwen last week despite a 108 average and he was unfortunate to run into Lewiis, who is enjoying his darts and looks in impressive form.dddddddddddd.Jackpot, who has never won the Premier League title, broke in the opener and never looked like conceding that advantage as he maintained and extended his advantage for a 7-3 victory that takes him third in the table. Premier League darts table Game of the night was James Wades victory over Raymond van Barneveld - a topsy-turvy affair that featured five 100+ finishes and saw The Machine come out on top, but only after threatening to throw away his advantage.Wade raced into a 5-1 lead but Barney refused to give up and scrapped his way back into the contest to trail 6-5 in the decider.Barney then missed darts to take a share of the points and Wade took full advantage of his reprieve to take out 82 and clinch the victory which moves him into the play-off places.Mentor and protege and great friends Gary Anderson and Michael Smith met in the opener and defending Premier League champion Anderson had more than enough in the tank for a 7-3 victory that keeps alive his play-off hopes.The Flying Scotsman plays twice in Glasgow next week and will look to push for a top-four spot, while Smith has the night off after playing twice in the opening round and both he and Thornton look in real trouble at the foot of the table.However, all eyes on Night Seven will be on the top two - Van Gerwen v Taylor promises to be a cracker, with both men in terrific form. Premier League Night Seven - Glasgow Gary Anderson v Adrian Lewis James Wade v Robert Thornton Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor Raymond van Barneveld v Dave Chisnall Gary Anderson v Peter WrightAlso See:As it happenedStudd: Boy who would be kingFixtures/ResultsPrem Table ' ' '