LOS ANGELES ― Twice this year, Clayton Kershaw needed several weeks on the injured list to recuperate from a lower back injury. Twice, the Dodgers insisted the injury was only significant if it hindered Kershaw when the season mattered most: in October.

With two weeks and two days remaining in the regular season, No. 22 was equal parts durable and effective against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kershaw allowed one run in six innings in the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory win over the Arizona Diamondbacks before an announced crowd of 44,854 on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw’s zero-walk, 10-strikeout performance was a testament to his command. He fed the Diamondbacks a heavy diet of sliders and fastballs and recorded nine of his 10 strikeouts with one pitch or the other.

It was also a testament to Kershaw’s recovery from an injury to the left side of his lower back, which kept the left-hander out of action from Aug. 4 to Sept. 1. He threw 94 pitches, the most he’s thrown in a game since his return. He looked ready for October.

The Dodgers’ 102nd win of the season officially clinched a first-round postseason bye. They will have five days off between the regular-season finale and hosting Game 1 of a best-of-five National League Division Series on Oct. 11.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Joey Gallo’s 18th home run of the season, a massive 437-foot shot that landed just beyond the last row of bleacher seats in right field.

Four more runs scored in the fourth inning to put the game away. Gallo kicked things off by following a Max Muncy double with an RBI single to the right-center field gap, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Gavin Lux singled on the next pitch from right-hander Merrill Kelly (12-7), moving Gallo to third base. Chris Taylor, who was coming off an 0-for-4, three-strikeout performance in San Francisco on Sunday night, smashed Kelly’s next pitch over the left field fence. The only question was how it got over.

The hit was initially ruled a double. The umpires then reviewed video of the ball barely clearing the short padded wall and bouncing off the midsection of a fan sitting in the first row of seats before bouncing back onto the field. Taylor had a three-run home run after the brief delay, the Dodgers had a 5-0 lead, and the fan had a viral moment of infamy.

Arizona scored its only run against Kershaw in the fifth inning. Carson Kelly led off with a double, went to third base on a single by Daulton Varsho, and scored when Geraldo Perdomo narrowly legged out a potential double-play groundout.

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Kershaw (9-3) lowered his ERA to 2.39, the lowest it’s been since July 15.

Right-handers Evan Phillips and Tommy Kahnle each threw a scoreless inning in relief.

Pitching the ninth inning in a non-save situation, Craig Kimbrel allowed the Diamondbacks to load the bases before he recorded an out. Sergio Alcantara then came to the plate representing the game-tying run.

Alcantara shot a hard ground ball into the teeth of the Dodgers’ left-handed shift, where Gavin Lux dove to his right to stop it from going to the outfield. The second baseman flipped it to shortstop Trea Turner covering second base, who ultimately tagged out Josh Rojas in a rundown between second and third.

Kimbrel then got Varsho to pop out to end the game.

More to come on this story.