Column: Clayton Kershaw has the Dodgers thinking positive again

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws to the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.When not much was going right for the Dodgers, when their bullpen was flailing and their big bats had fallen ominously silent with runners in scoring position and their collective confidence had dipped enough for them to lose three straight games and seven of nine, Clayton Kershaw stepped in and willed them back toward success.

Their most experienced starter played the role of stopper Wednesday, striking out eight and walking one over seven carefully crafted shutout innings against Cincinnati. A six-run outburst by the Dodgers in the eighth turned what had been a tight game…