Clayton Kershaw turned in another encouraging start since returning from lower back pain, and it helped the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the San Francisco Giants to end their homestand with a series win.
He allowed three runs on a pair of homers but stretched out to six innings after pitching five in his return from the 15-day injured list. “Honestly, I probably had three bad pitches, and they were all hits. And one of them was a homer, which was frustrating,” Kershaw said after the no-decision.
“But overall, felt great. I thought my fastball command was pretty good overall, so another good step forward for me.”
While Kershaw and the Dodgers certainly value the encouraging results, his health is more paramount as the team marches toward another National League West title with the hope of winning a second World Series in the past three years.
“I feel great. It’s really been good the last two starts and I’ve been bouncing back good,” Kershaw said. “Thankful for that and ready for the next one. … You just want to pitch good heading into October.
“I think that’s the biggest thing. I feel great right now. I feel great until I don’t. Right now I feel great and I don’t expect that to change.”
Kershaw anticipates making upwards of five more starts during the regular season.
Roberts credits Kershaw for approach against Giants
Although Kershaw was not overly pleased with his mistake pitches, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts felt his left-hander excelled against an opponent that has plenty of familiarity with him.
“I thought he was really good. I thought everything was working, namely the slider,” Roberts said. “I think he threw more curveballs, which I really like to see. Especially against a team that’s seen him so much and will kind of hunt tendencies, he did a nice job of mixing things up. Really nice job.”
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