Minute Maid Redemption: Kershaw brilliant in return to Houston

So it’s a little harder to hit against Clayton Kershaw when you don’t know the pitch. Huh. Who’da thunk it? The Dodgers ace, pitching in Minute Maid Park for the first time since the infamous trash can game in the World Series, was completely dominant on Tuesday night. He shut down the hard-hitting Astros* lineup, allowing just one run through 7.2 innings of efficient, masterful work. The Dodgers offense was stymied by Houston’s Zack Greinke for while, but once they cracked the code on the crafty veteran, they were off to the races in a 9-2 blowout win.

Pitching Clinic from two aces early

For a while, it looked like it would be a classic pitchers’ duel between the former teammates Kershaw and Greinke. They both blew through hitters so fast it seemed like the whole game might be over in an hour and half. The two veterans were both perfect through three innings, pitching barely a half-dozen pitches in each frame.

JT with a bomb

The Dodgers put an end to Greinke’s perfection in the top of the fourth. After Mookie Betts was able to caress a walk out of the home plate umpire, Justin Turner came up with Betts aboard and no out. Though Turner has struggled mightily of late, he did rip a ball to the warning track in the first inning, so seemed to be seeing Greinke well.

With Betts getting a few throws at first, Greinke’s attention was a bit divided. Then, on a 2-2 pitch, Greinke tried to float a big, slow bender into the strike zone that Turner jumped all over. Without the aid of a banging trash can, JT stroked a home run to the opposite field, and the Dodgers were on the board, 2-0.

Kershaw mows through ‘stros

On the other side of the ball, Kershaw was a cold-hearted assassin; he carved up the Astros* in the classic Kershaw fashion, attacking the strike zone and taking advantage of the Houston hitters’ misplaced aggressiveness. The book on Kersh is to try to highjack the first pitch because he tries to get ahead so regularly. That works sometimes, but when it doesn’t, it results in a lot of one-pitch AB’s and short innings. Tonight, instead of the strikeout, Kershaw got the Astros* to hit into into a bevy of harmless groundouts. In fact, the longest inning Kershaw was on the mound was caused by some sort of dispute about the lighting at the stadium in the bottom of the fifth. After that was sorted out, Kershaw retired the side on seven pitches and the Dodgers were off the field.

Taylor clutch again

The Dodgers had a sweet little two-out rally in the top of the sixth. After two quick outs, the visitors got a single and a couple of walks to load up the bases for Chris Taylor. Continuing his clutch ways, Taylor managed to sneak a line just over the glove of Jose Altuve for a two-run single. It was 4-0, and Greinke’s day was done.

Let’s take a walk. And another. And another…

The Houston bullpen, to put it mildly, was atrocious in relief of Greinke. The Dodgers scored a run on a wild pitch in the seventh and then three more on a boatload of walks in the eighth and managed to sneak their ninth run home in their final AB on fielder’s choice grounder from Gavin Lux.

Kershaw sharp into the eighth

The lone blemish to Kershaw’s evening was a lead-off solo home run to Alex Bregman in the seventh inning. Unfazed by the hiccup, Kershaw went on to retire the side with no further damage, and even got the ball in the eighth inning for a couple of hitters before his evening was over. The night was one of Kershaw’s very best performances of the season. His line: 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6K. Kershaw’s ERA dipped below 3.00 again, and now sits at 2.94 for the year. Where it should be.

Kelly hears the boo birds

Joe Kelly came in to get the final out of the eighth inning. Just cuz, I suppose. And though there was a chorus of boos, there was no pouty face and he made short work of his one hitter, and was back in the dugout without incident. Newcomer Phil Bickford finished things up in the ninth, and did struggle a little bit before putting the Astros* out of their misery.

Sweet Revenge

What happened in 2017 was horrible, and can never be fully repaired. But tonight’s game went a ways in healing the wounds a bit. And now, the Dodgers continue to roll through this road trip, winning their five straight away from LA and their eighth straight overall. Trevor Bauer tries to keep the train rolling Wednesday night. 5:10 start.