Although it would cost him an opportunity to possibly start or so much as appear in the 2017 All-Star Game, Clayton Kershaw made the decision to put the Los Angeles Dodgers first and take the mound against the Kansas City Royals in the series and first-half finale.
“It would almost be weird if I didn’t pitch. “It being my turn to start on Sunday, it just made sense to do it,” he explained last week. Not only did Kershaw take the ball, he punctuated what was an impressive first 90 games for the Dodgers, who own the best record in the Majors at 61-29.
Collecting 13 strikeouts while needing just 99 pitches, Kershaw threw a complete game. He surrendered two runs — on an Eric Hosmer home run — and held the Royals to five total hits. Kershaw did not issue any walks.
The complete game was the first of the season for Kershaw, and his first since a two-hit shutout of the Cincinnati Reds on May 23, 2016.
“It’s about time. It’s been a while,” Kershaw said Sunday. “It felt good to get out there and finish a game. Sandy (Koufax) was here, so I wanted to do it for him.”
While Koufax’s presence may have provided some motivation, so too did the workload the Dodgers bullpen has shouldered. Kershaw specifically made mention of Pedro Baez’s, Kenley Jansen’s and Brando Morrow’s recent usage rates.
“It was a good way to end the first half,” said Kershaw alluding Dodgers manager Dave Roberts not needing to call on the bullpen.
As for the Dodgers, who are in the midst of a 26-4 run and have the best run differential in baseball at plus-163, the three-time Cy Young Award winner called it “the best first half I’ve ever been a part of.”
