Clayton Kershaw had already completed his heavy lifting for the spring by the time he step foot on the mound Wednesday at Peoria Sports Complex. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ ace was expected to complete three innings, then begin preparing for his Opening Day start.
Kershaw walked the first batter faced and proceeded to throw 33 pitches in the first inning. He allowed two runs in the frame. While he seemed bound for a quick hook, Kershaw rebounded with a six-pitch second inning and retired the side in order.
He threw 11 pitches in the third to reach his benchmark for the afternoon. The three-time Cy Young Award winner addressed his shaky outing and expressed some relief on putting Spring Training behind him, via SportsNet LA:
“Not a lot of good stuff. I didn’t really have a great rhythm, walking that first batter. Just a lot of stuff, I’m thankful it doesn’t count. I’m thankful it doesn’t count. This one is always hard, the last one of Spring Training, trying to get out of here, a lot of distractions. No excuses, but I’m thankful it’s over.”
Kershaw finished the spring 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 28 strikeouts to seven walks in 24 innings pitched across seven Cactus League starts. He strung together six hitless frames over three starts before simultaneously surrendering a hit and run (home run) in the bottom of the first inning of his fourth start.
Throughout Spring Training, Kershaw regularly found issue with his performance. Even after striking out 11 and scattering two hits over six scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers.
His next time on the mound will come with added intensity, which Kershaw is looking forward to. He added health remains a non-issue. Kershaw missed 10 weeks last season while recovering from a herniated disc.
