Clayton Kershaw improved to 4-0 when starting a game in which the Los Angeles Dodgers could clinch the National League West as he led a strong pitching effort to shut out the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
After the Dodgers gathered around the mound for a team photo while dressed in NL West champions t-shirts and caps, players went into the clubhouse for their traditional celebration. But prior to spraying beer and champagne on each other, manager Dave Roberts congratulated them for the achievement and singled out Kershaw.
He was coaxed into giving a speech and expressed his gratitude, “I just want to say I love you guys and thank you for being so good, because it’s really fun to be on this team. So let’s have a blast.”
Kershaw’s message ended with players yelling and corks flying off champagne bottles and beer cans being busted open. Later during the NL West celebration, Kershaw — without a shirt on and bypassing goggles — further expanded on his appreciation and excitement with Dodgers winning another NL West title, via SportsNet LA:
“It’s just a special night. The game itself was kind of like our whole season in a nutshell. Mookie (Betts) makes an unbelievable play, Trea (Turner) makes an unbelievable play, we get big homers from Joey (Gallo), Freddie (Freeman) and (Max) Muncy. Everybody just does a great job to win the game. It’s really fun to be on the mound. It’s really fun to be on this team. This is exciting. I’m so happy for these guys, I’m so happy that I get to be here to do it. Especially like (Andrew) Heaney and Yency Almonte, guys who haven’t gotten to do it before, you really realize this is pretty special.”
Joey Gallo’s two-run home run in the second inning broke a scoreless tie, and Freddie Freeman added to it with a solo shot that cleared the Chase Field pool. Max Muncy provided the Dodgers with insurance in the seventh inning by becoming their fifth player this season with at least 20 home runs.
Trea Turner made a dazzling diving stop in the sixth inning and the Mookie Betts play Kershaw alluded to was a sliding catch in right field for the first out in the bottom of the seventh.
Kershaw wound up holding the Diamondbacks to one hit and one walk over seven scoreless innings. Prior to Tuesday, his last start in an NL West clincher was a complete-game shutout against the San Francisco Giants in 2015.
Kershaw: Dodgers didn’t plan on Chase Field pool celebration
When the Dodgers won the 2013 NL West title, their celebration famously included jumping into the Chase Field pool. As the possibility of wrapping up another division in the Diamondbacks’ home ballpark loomed, Kershaw said the team was unlikely to repeat their splashdown.
Nevertheless, local sheriffs stood in the pool area to presumably deter the Dodgers and fans from attempting to jump in.
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