Clayton Kershaw stymies Diamondbacks as Dodgers win Aussie opener

SYDNEY -- Clayton Kershaw flashed his Cy Young form, Scott Van Slyke homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers opened the Major League Baseball season with a 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night at Sydney Cricket Ground.

A crowd of about 40,000 watched as MLB played its first regular-season game in Australia.

Opening day was a g'day for the NL West champion Dodgers.

Kershaw, who signed a seven-year, $215 million contract in January, allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Van Slyke hit a two-run homer and also doubled.

The first pitch was delayed because of rain for 14 minutes.

The long trip Down Under took even longer for some Arizona players. A team bus had a flat tire, and the Diamondbacks said "a handful" of players decided to walk the last half-mile to the stadium instead of waiting for a replacement bus.