Steve Webb
Things looked not so great as Clayton Kershaw took to the mound for the home half of the first inning of the Dodgers 5-1 win in Oakland tonight. Two quick doubles and the Boys in Blue were promptly in a 1-0 hole before the faithful had even settled in with their Covid-safe popcorn. But the lefty ace proved once again that they don’t just give those Cy Youngs to chumps. He got out of the first inning with three strikeouts and never looked back. The Dodgers’ offense depended on the long ball, getting three home runs for the night in a solid victory over the Athletics.
Luckily for Kershaw, he had a little time to gather his thoughts after the rocky start, as the Dodgers offense got to work in the top of the second inning. Edwin Rios greeted starter Chris Bassitt with a lead-off single, which was followed by a Gavin Lux walk. Austin Barnes then promptly doubled down the left field line and just like that the score was tied.
Unfortunately, after that strong start, the rally sort of fizzled and saw Lux being thrown out at the plate by first baseman Mitch Moreland. It was the fifth time a Dodger runner has been thrown out already this year, the most in the majors. That is something they’ll definitely need to clean up as the season progresses. After Kershaw retired the Athletics in order in the bottom of the second, the Dodgers struck again in the third, getting two home runs, both by left handed hitters. After Justin Turner singled, Max Muncy hit a two-run shot, followed one batter later by Edwin Rios’s solo job. The Dodgers were now up 4-1 and they never looked back.
Now with a lead, Kershaw attacked the strike zone the rest of the night. Everything that fans had been worried about in Colorado disappeared into the Oakland night. His breaking stuff had movement, his slider was biting and he was missing a whole lot of bats. In fact, Kersh got more swings-and-misses tonight than he’d gotten in four years.
The final line was vintage Clayton Kershaw: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 8K. Sixty-one of his 91 pitches were for strikes, and many of the strikes were of the unhittable variety, dropping down into the strike zone from somewhere around San Leandro. Clearly, reports of the demise of Clayton Kershaw have been slightly exaggerated.
Mookie Betts added an insurance run with a homer of his own in the top of the ninth. With the lead extended, manager Dave Roberts decided to try and let reliever Blake Treinen finish the game after he had pitched a scoreless 8th. However, a quick single by Ramon Laureano made short work of that plan. Enter Kenley Jansen.
Though he didn’t have as good of stuff as he did in his last outing in Colorado, he managed to record two quick fly ball outs. But then a walk to Stephen Piscotty made things interesting. Suddenly the tying run was on deck. With men on second and third after Piscotty stole a bag, hard hitting Mitch Moreland stepped to the plate. Jansen was again able to induce soft contact, but it looked like Moreland’s little hump-backer to center might find the outfield grass. Luckily, second basemen Gavin Lux was able to flag it down and the game was over.
The Dodgers are now 5-1. They finish the series against the Athletics with a day game tomorrow, 12:37 start. Trevor Bauer vs. Jesus Luzardo. Then, it’s an off day and back to Chavez Ravine for the long awaited home opener on Friday afternoon against the Nationals.
