Clayton Kershhaw earned his third victory of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers after completing five innings and allowing two runs against the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
However, Kershaw gave up five hits and walked two batters, which left him frustrated after the outing.
“I mean, yeah, walked too many guys, too many hits,” Kershaw said. “I’m not a big over-analyzer. If they hit it, it wasn’t a good pitch. And if they don’t, it’s a good pitch. So they hit too many of them tonight.”
Kershaw has been able to limit the damage when allowing hits and walking batters. In June, he has a 2.49 ERA over three starts, but he still is trying to find more consistency from game to game, and even pitch to pitch.
“It’s weird. I think the last couple starts, even against the Giants, I felt like it wasn’t quite as good as the one before that,” Kershaw said.
“So just trying to figure out how to be a little bit more consistent, and I don’t really know how yet. So I’m just trying to work through that a little bit. But overall, I think I have enough to get some guys out. And thankfully, it’s working out right now.”
The left-hander also is still working on his mechanics, trying to shake off some of the poor habits that were created while pitching with an injured toe that ultimately required surgery.
“I mean, I’m not very good with mechanics. Mark, Connor, everybody’s got good advice for me,” Kershaw said. “Until I feel it, it’s really hard for me to change. I’ve been called stubborn before, and I don’t think this is stubborn. I just got to feel it a little bit more.
“But it’s not affecting me pitching overall, I can still get people out. I just want to do it a little bit better.”
Kershaw has felt what he wants to during games, but it hasn’t stuck with him yet. “I mean, I know it’s in there,” he said.
“That’s the frustrating part. There were a few pitches tonight where it clicked, and it’s just not it’s not every one. So hopefully it’ll get there.”
Even as he continues to refine his game and figure out the issues bothering him, Kershaw has a 3.31 ERA across 32.2 innings.
Clayton Kershaw closing in on 3,000 strikeouts
With four strikeouts in the start, Kershaw is now just eight away from 3,000 in his career. While the future Hall of Famer has downplayed the milestone, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and some of Kershaw’s teammates are looking forward to the accomplishment.
“It’s nice to play behind him,” Miguel Rojas said. “I don’t take it for granted. I remember my first time playing, 12 years ago when I first debuted, playing behind him, and knowing how good he was, and how good he is right now for the team.
“It’s really special knowing that he’s approaching the 3,000 (strikeouts), every pitch counts, every strikeout counts. But for him, I feel like it’s more important to win games. For him to be 3-0 with really good numbers overall, I’m happy for him that he’s healthy, happy and able to contribute.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
