Los Angeles Dodgers get Clayton Kershaw back and he’s still pretty good
By Jason Burke
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been cruising right along without the best pitcher on the planet, but on Friday night they got him back and Clayton Kershaw sailed through six shutout innings.
Not that they needed him, but the Los Angeles Dodgers (92-41) got their ace back last night in San Diego. It was Kershaw’s first start since hitting the disabled list back in late July. While the Padres offense doesn’t necessarily consist of world beaters, you’d think that most pitchers that had missed the last six weeks could be a little rusty upon returning.
Not Kershaw.
He fanned seven over six shutout frames, allowing just two hits on 70 pitches–53 strikes. Not only was he dominant, but he was also economical with his pitch usage. If this had been a playoff start, he could have easily gone another two innings and perhaps even completed the contest. Then again, this is the Dodgers we’re talking about, so two times through the order may be all any pitcher gets this October.
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With the 1-0 win, Kershaw joins Milwaukee’s Zach Davies and former teammate Zack Greinke atop the MLB leaderboard in wins with 16. While pitcher wins don’t mean as much as they used to, for Kershaw to have missed six weeks, make one start and still be at the top of a stat in which more starts actually help, unlike ERA, is impressive.
His ERA is also impressive, sitting at a cool 1.95 for the season, again the best in baseball. Max Scherzer is the closest to him with a 2.21 ERA.
There shouldn’t be any doubting Kershaw’s ability the rest of the way this regular season, but once the season starts wrapping up and the calendar flips to October, we’re going to start hearing rumblings about Kersh not being a big game performer. Even if that is the case, this year’s team is a little different. If they only want Kershaw going five frames, they can afford to have him do that this go-around. Kenley Jansen has shown that he can take on multiple innings in the postseason, and he’ll be a great asset to have for the playoff push.
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Last night Alex Verdugo also made his big-league debut, going 0-for-3 while patrolling center. He stayed true to form though, walking once and not striking out.