Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Was this the final regular season start at Dodger Stadium of Clayton Kershaw‘s storied career? Even he doesn’t know that. However, it if was, he certainly went out on a high note. Kershaw pitched five scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants, and walked off the mound en route to his 210th career victory, which breaks a tie with Don Drysdale for second place on the Dodgers’ all-time leaderboard for wins.
Let’s be honest. The stuff is still diminished right now. His fastball was consistently in the high 80s. However, Kershaw at his best is not about overpowering batters. It’s about throwing it so they CAN’T hit it, no matter what the velocity. So on that score, it was a great start for the future Hall of Famer: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.
“At the end of the day, you just have to execute pitches, you know?” said Kershaw of his 76-pitch outing. “It’s as simple as that, regardless of what your velocity is or how the stuff’s moving. So, obviously, you’d like to be at your peak, but to be able to put pitches where you want to and execute your offspeed pitches, ultimately, you can get guys out that way.”
As for the offense, the Dodgers gave Clayton plenty to work with. J.D. Martinez had another big night, going 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. Mookie had two hits and two steaks as well. In fact, the first four hitters in the Dodgers’ batting order (Betts, Freeman, Muncy, and Martinez) all had multi-hit nights off the bevy of Giant pitchers in this bullpen game for San Francisco. The Dodgers had three two-run innnings in this one, putting up a deuce in the third, the fifth, and the eighth. It was a solid night at the plate in support of an even better night on the mound.
After Kershaw’s exit, the bullpen continued to shut down the Giant bats. Joe Kelly, Michael Grove, and Caleb Ferguson finished out the game in fine fashion: no runs on no hits and only one walk in the final four frames. It made for a tight and clean two hours and thirty minutes of baseball for the Dodgers 95th win of the season. But one couldn’t help but wonder at the end of it all what the future hold for number 22.
“It’s just remarkable, it really is,” said manager Dave Roberts of his prized lefty. “I think that Clayton is the first to tell you he doesn’t like to use anything as an excuse or talk about anything. But I know what’s going on. I just have so much respect for him. And people can’t do what he can do. … He just sort of wills himself to get guys out.”
Hopefully he can keep willing himself to do that for another month or so. The Dodgers wrap up their home series against the Giants on Sunday night baseball (again). It’s going to be Lance Lynn against rookie righty Ryan Walker (4-3, 3.20 ERA). In a way, it will be a good rehearsal for the early start times that the team is likely to see in October. It’s also the final home game of the regular season. So you’ve got one last chance to see the Boys in Blue before things get real. Get thee to Chavez Ravine!
