Yet again, the demise of Clayton Kershaw appears to have been greatly exaggerated. In the opener of a key series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he flirted with a no-hitter and turned in a third consecutive start without allowing an earned run.
The streak spans 20 innings pitched. What’s more, Kershaw has not allowed a home run since surrendering a career-high four homers to the New York Mets on June 19. “You guys kept telling me I was giving up too many homers, so I tried to stop doing that,” he deadpanned after Tuesday’s start.
“It was a great win. This is a team right behind us, obviously, so for us to get the first one of the series was big.”
Prior to a Chris Owings infield single with one out in the seventh inning, the Diamondbacks’ lone baserunners had come via two Chris Iannetta walks.
Kershaw struck out the side in the fifth inning, which was part of a stretch where he recorded six consecutive outs by way of punch-outs. He finished with 11 strikeouts and a 57th career double-digit strikeout game.
“I thought my off-speed stuff was good tonight and had some decent fastball command,” Kershaw said.
There was an audible groan from the fans at Dodger Stadium once Kershaw’s no-hit bid was broken up, and it was followed by a standing ovation. Kershaw himself appeared to let out a sigh, however he claimed to not yet have his mind on potentially making history.
“The biggest key is just not to exhale. It’s still 3-0 at the time, so one swing of the bat could put them back in the game,” Kershaw said. “You’ve got to really focus and just not exhale, keep going.
“After the seventh inning is when you start thinking about [a no-hitter]. Six outs is a lot to get in and of itself, so even after six (innings) it’s not on the forefront of my mind yet.”
Some of the sting from the soft hit was erased when Iannetta dropped a single into left field. Even if Kershaw had not allowed a hit, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he intended to remove the left-handed ace after the seventh inning due to a high pitch count.
“I think I made Doc’s job a little easier by giving up a hit,” Kershaw joked. “He didn’t have to worry about keeping me in or not.”
After fielding several questions Kershaw heard the booms above and quickly ended his interview. “Oh, I gotta go. Fireworks! I love you guys,” he said.
