Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — He’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! And by he, you know who I’m talking about. That’s right. Clayton Kershaw, our three-time Cy Young-winning legend, returned to the active roster on Thursday night as the Dodgers opened up a homestand against the Colorado Rockies. And, except for one pitch toward the end of his outing, he looked great, giving up only one run over five innings of four-hit ball. The start put the Dodgers in position to come back and win the game late, on a Max Muncy homer and a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth. The 2-1 victory was the fifth in a row for the Dodgers and their ninth in the last ten.
Kershaw took the mound for the 7:10 start, and immediately got to work, throwing one of his patented first-pitch strikes. He threw a four-seam fastball right on the black to his “old buddy” Jurickson Profar, and the game was underway.
“It was great to be back,” Kershaw said. “You want to be a part of what’s going on here. You want to help your team win. It was a great feeling, good to be back out there, good to be at Dodger Stadium again. I don’t take for granted those opportunities.”
Kershaw even broke out a new toy to play with: a forkball-ish changeup that he threw a couple of times in the game. Whether or not the cambio will end up being part of his arsenal going forward remains to be seen, but it was good to see that Kersh gave himself a little homework assignment while he was rehabbing the “cranky” shoulder.
Kershaw threw 67 pitches (45 for strikes), but said the most important part was that he got through five innings, something he hadn’t even attempted in a sim game during his rehab. The lone blemish on an otherwise perfect outing came with two out in his last inning, when he hung a slider to Elehuris Montero, and the Rockies’ DH ripped a solo shot to left.
Manager Dave Roberts was impressed with the start, but knew that the big picture had to be kept in mind as well. “I just think we need to make sure he takes the ball every fifth or sixth day,” he said. “I know Clayton wants to be a part of this really bad. He knows how special this group is and he wants to contribute. … I think for him, my thought is just be yourself, you don’t have to do it on your own. Today he sort of did for five innings. But we scored late. It was a good day all around.”
As for the offense, Thursday was a bit of a dud. The Dodgers couldn’t seem to get anything going against Ty Blach, who for some reason always seems to have the Dodgers number. Blach, coming into the game with a lifetime ERA over 5.00, nevertheless held the Dodgers’ bats in check until his last pitch of the night, in the bottom of the seventh, when he surrender a game-tying two-out, solo home run to Max Muncy. Muncy has struggled all year against lefties so it was could to see him hit one on the screws against Blach.
Then in the eighth, the Dodgers were able to scratch across the winning run. A couple of walks and a Mookie Betts single loaded the bases in the inning. And, to be honest, Will Smith would have been the hero of the game if not for an incredible over-the-shoulder catch by Ezequiel Tovar at short on a looping line drive. Tovar’s circus catch was the second out of the inning, so that left it all up to Muncy.
But as we all know, if there are two things Max Muncy does, it’s hit dingers and take walks. He did the former in the seventh. Now it was time for the latter. Rox reliever Daniel Bard, never an expert with the strike zone, walked Muncy on just five pitches, none of the balls being a particularly competitive pitch. So, the winning run of the game just strolled home from the third, and Muncy collected a free RBI.
Brusdar Graterol pitched a stress-free ninth inning to secure the win, and the Dodgers walked off the field with the victory, their second in as many nights where they had to rely on near-perfect pitching to win the game.
But that really is the big story of the game, the pitching, and most particularly, Clayton Kershaw. If Kershaw can come back and the rest of the rotation can be what we know they can be, this team is going to be as dangerous as any in October.
“Any time 22 is on the mound, you have a good feeling about how the game is gonna turn out, and I think it’s a boost for everyone in this clubhouse,” said Max Muncy after the game. “Hopefully we can keep him for the rest of the stretch … it’s just fun to be on the same field as that guy.”
It’s fun to be in the stands, too.
Friday is a big day at Dodger Stadium. After a long campaign and a lot of lobbying, Fernando Valenzuela will finally have his number retired by the team for which he had his greatest success. And it will be sure to be an emotional moment for Fernando and his entire fan base when number 34 is finally unveiled. Game time on Friday is 7:10 pm, but get there early. You’re not going to want to miss a moment of it.
