Clayton Kershaw is a modest 13-9 this season, but the Dodgers are pumping him as a Cy Young candidate once again.

A.J. Ellis, Kershaw's catcher, doesn't believe his mediocre record should be held against him.

"It didn't hurt Felix Hernandez a few years ago," Ellis said, pointing to how the Seattle ace won the award in the American League in 2010 with a 13-12 record.

Kershaw's all-around statistics are barely down from his Cy Young Award season last year.

"The numbers speak for themselves," Ellis said. "It's really hard for starting pitchers to control wins and losses. All you can do is go out there and give your team in the best chance to win the game. I think having the lowest ERA in the National League does that. Our inability to score runs, especially when he pitches, may at the end of the day cost him."

The Phillies have acquired Stefan Jarrin to complete the July trade with the Dodgers that sent Shane Victorino to Los Angeles.

Jarrin, 22, spent the last two seasons with L.A.'s Rookie ball affiliate.

The 2011 40th round selection has a .211/.309/.336 batting line in 175 plate appearances.

The Nationals, Reds, Giants and Braves have all locked up berths in the National League playoffs.

The Cardinals lead the race for the No. 2 Wild Card berth, holding at least a three-game lead over their competition. The Dodgers (three games back), Brewers (four), Diamondbacks (six) and Phillies (six) are all mathematically alive.

Cincinnati has clinched the NL Central title and San Francisco has locked up the West crown. Washington holds a four-game lead over Atlanta for the division title.

Arizona and Philadelphia could be eliminated from the postseason race as soon as Friday night.

Adrian Beltre said Eric Gagne should have named names when he alleged that 80 percent of his former Dodgers teammates were using PED drugs in a new biography.

Gagne has admitted using human growth hormone over five cycles in a three-year period toward the end of his career.

"He should have mentioned names," Beltre said. "I know for sure I'm not one of them. I haven't read the book. I'm not interested in it. He should have come up with names instead of a percentage."

In his new biography, Eric Gagne alleges that 80 percent of his teammates on the Dodgers were using performance-enhancing drugs.

Gagne admits that he used human growth hormone over five cycles in a three-year period toward the end of his career.

"It was sufficient to ruin my health, tarnish my reputation and throw a shadow over the extraordinary performances of my career," he says in the French-language book, titled "Game Over: The Story of Eric Gagne."

Gagne does not provide any names of players he says used PEDs.

The Dodgers were supposed to cruise into the postseason after a blockbuster trade with the Red Sox last month that landed them Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Nick Punto and the injured Carl Crawford.

Instead, they have gone just 8-13 since the waiver-wire deal that added a boatload of current and future payroll.

At the time of the trade they were two games back of the Giants in the National League West, but they are now more than eight games behind the first-place club.

Clayton Kershaw has been examined by a hip specialist who says the left-hander can continue to pitch without risking damage to his sore right hip, but the Dodgers want to keep him sidelined if the pain persists, according to an ESPN.com report on Tuesday.

The Dodgers may not have Clayton Kershaw for the start of next season.

If Kershaw must undergo surgery to repair his ailing right hip, he isn't expected to be pitching until the middle of May, according to multiple sources.

Kershaw's decision on whether to have an operation will be made after he receives a second opinion from Dr. Bryan Kelly on Tuesday.

The Dodgers need Matt Kemp more than ever, but he has struggled since running into the outfield wall at Coors Field a few weeks ago.

With a sore shoulder, Kemp has just five hits in 48 at-bats since the incident. He has struck out 15 times, including three on Saturday night against the Cardinals.

Kemp is batting .114 this month. He's driven in two runs. Of the 133 National League players with at least 25 at-bats in September, Kemp rates 131st in OPS.

Hanley Ramirez has fired back at the Marlins after president David Samson explained that the team traded him because they "just realized we couldn't win with him."

In 45 games with the Dodgers, Ramirez is hitting .260 with 10 home runs and an .811 OPS.

He is also enjoying a pennant race in Los Angeles, while Miami continues to struggle.

"Now are they winning without me?" Ramirez said.

Miami's winning percentage has fallen -- .464 before the trade, .383 after -- and they will finish with their third consecutive losing season.

"I don't think it's one guy," Ramirez said. "If it was me, you know, OK. I had a lot of good memories there. They gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues."