LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw looked like a mere mortal at times on Saturday night, but in the end he stayed true to form, outdueling Bud Norris to help the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-0 win over the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw (8-1) pitched six shutout innings for his sixth win in his last seven outings. He gave up three hits, struck out four, walked one and hit one batter, marking the first time in his career that he has beaned an opposing pitcher.

"I wasn't great tonight," Kershaw said. "Physically, I felt fine, but the ball just wasn't coming out of my hand very good today. It was just one of those days where it was just a grind."

In Kershaw's shortest outing of the season, he allowed the leadoff batter to reach in three innings. But he got the outs when needed, making it easy to see why the Dodgers are 11-1 this season when Kershaw starts.

"That's why those guys are who they are," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "That's what sets them apart from everybody else. They just steamroll on them."

Three Los Angeles relievers combined for three scoreless innings. Closer Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth in a non-save situation.

"I got a lot of help tonight," Kershaw said. "Six innings isn't why we're here. That's just not acceptable, but I'll take it for tonight. I don't ever want to leave three innings for the bullpen."

Despite the loss, Norris (1-7) had his best start of the season. In his first start since April 27, Norris went five innings, giving up one earned run and three hits, walking four and striking out two.

Snitker knew Norris had it in him and was impressed the right-hander's performance on such short notice. Norris signed with the Braves intending to be a starter and was in the rotation through spring training and much of April.

"It wasn't like he came out of the bullpen having never been stretched out before," Snitker said. "He was stretched out all of spring until we put him in the bullpen. I asked him the inning before (he came out) and he said, 'Shoot, I feel good.' The ball was coming out of his hand pretty good."

Norris took right-hander Mike Foltynewicz's place when Foltynewicz went down with elbow soreness on Friday. The one earned run was the fewest Norris has given up in a start since June 7, 2015, as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

"He said, 'I'll give you all of the bullets I have,' and he used all of them and then some," Snitker said. "He gave us a really good start."

The Braves continued their worst start since 1911, falling to 16-39.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the third. Kershaw legged out an infield single to lead off the inning and later scored when Justin Turner doubled up the middle off Norris.

Los Angeles scored three more runs in the eighth. With one out and runners on the corners, Joc Pederson's drag bunt scored Turner from third. A double steal then put Trayce Thompson on third and Pederson on second before Howie Kendrick was walked to load the bases.

The Braves went to the bullpen, replacing Ian Krol with John Gant, who was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier in the day to take Foltynewicz's place on the roster. Gant got A.J. Ellis to fly out to left field, but it was deep enough to score Thompson. The rally continued when pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal lined a curveball to left field to score Pederson.

The Dodgers stole five bases in the game, with Thompson swiping a career-high three. He also walked three times -- another career-best mark -- becoming the first Dodger to walk three times and steal three bases in a game since his manager did it on April 9, 2004.

"I feel like that's a part of my game that I can work on and get better at and I feel like I can establish myself out there," Thompson said. "I've done it in the past a little bit on the bases, but that's part of my game that I can bring to the table. Just trying to do what I can to help the team win."

NOTES: OF Trayce Thompson started in right field for the second night in a row after RF Yasiel Puig (hamstring) was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday. ... The Dodgers sent OF James Ramsey to Triple-A Oklahoma City outright on Saturday. ... Dodgers RHP Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John surgery) will throw a three-inning, 60-pitch simulated game this week in preparation for a rehab assignment. ... Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that LHP Julio Urias will start on Tuesday. The 19-year-old has previously made two starts, once in place of injured LHP Alex Wood and once to give RHP Kenta Maeda an extra day of rest after being hit in the hand with a line drive against the New York Mets. ... The Braves placed RHP Mike Foltynewicz on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow soreness on Saturday. RHP John Gant was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his place on the roster. RHP Bud Norris made Foltynewicz's start on Saturday. ... The Braves plan to transition RHP Tyrell Jenkins, one of their top prospects, from a starter to a reliever. Currently with Triple-A Gwinnett, Jenkins made his first relief outing against the Durham Bulls, striking out three in two scoreless innings. Braves manager Brian Snitker said the decision was made in an effort to accelerate his development and get him to the major leagues as quick as possible.