Uncertainty surrounded Clayton Kershaw when he underwent left shoulder surgery during the offseason, which came roughly one month after his disastrous outing in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
Kershaw expressed a desire to continue pitching in 2024, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were open in their interest to re-sign him. The sides eventually came together in February on a contract that includes a player option for 2025.
But while Kershaw had made notable progress in his recovery to that point, multiple months remained ahead before he would be back on the mound.
The 35-year-old worked tirelessly to get back into that position, and has been a welcomed addition for the Dodgers rotation. Kershaw’s latest effort was six scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals to help the Dodgers get a series victory and winning record on their road trip.
Kershaw only finished with two strikeouts but induced a bevy of soft contact and needed just 70 pitches to get through his longest start of the season. Following the win, he credited a versatile Dodgers infield for turning balls in play into outs, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I felt fine today. There were some misses that I’d like to have back, but they were swinging a lot, putting the ball on the ground, so thankfully we had got big double plays. We basically had four shortstops behind me in the infield. They were hitting it to them, so that was a good recipe.”
As for his overall health and success through five starts so far in 2024, Kershaw admitted he’s relieved and grateful for his left shoulder to be pain-free:
“Honestly, I don’t even remember what it felt like to not have your shoulder hurt. So it’s nice to wake up and everything feels good, shoulder feels good. It’s a good feeling.
Because of Freddie Freeman’s jammed right middle finger preventing him from playing on Sunday, Kiké Hernández drew his first start at first base this season. Hernández previously had played the position seven games this year, including on Saturday when Freeman was removed.
Gavin Lux remained the starter at second base, Miguel Rojas played third base and Nick Ahmed was at shortstop. The Dodgers converted two doubles plays while Kershaw was on the mound, and Austin Barnes also caught a runner stealing.
Kershaw faced one over the minimum as he breezed through five innings before navigating some traffic in the sixth.
Clayton Kershaw’s 2024 stats
In five starts this season, Kershaw is 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in each outing.
The left-hander has been particularly effective in August, pitching to a 1.10 ERA against the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Cardinals.
Sunday’s start was Kershaw’s first time completing six innings since June 27, 2023.
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