When Clayton Kershaw had last faced the Milwaukee Brewers, he scattered three hits and collected 13 strikeouts to help the Los Angeles Dodgers complete a sweep of the Wild Card Series.
Two batters into Tuesday’s start it was evident Kershaw would not be reprising that effort in Cactus League play. He surrendered back-to-back home runs to open the game and labored to get through four innings.
Overall, Kershaw allowed five runs, eight hits and issued three walks. Kershaw’s fastball velocity sat between 88 and 91 mph, and he only managed three strikeouts.
“Not great. Not great. Not a lot of positives,” he said after being removed. “Just keep going, figure it out. … Too many hits. Just keep trying to figure it out and plug away.”
Kershaw notoriously is his harshest critic, so his frustration was hardly a surprise. For Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, the bigger picture offered a much better assessment. Heading into the outing Roberts was focused on Kershaw getting through the scheduled four innings of work.
“We got him up and down four times, he came out of it healthy, so that’s the main takeaway. You’re not going to have your best stuff every time out there,” Roberts said.
As for specifically addressing Kershaw’s struggles, Roberts explained, “I just thought the stuff didn’t have the finish to it. Whether it be the fastball life or slider finish. The curveball just didn’t have that finish.”
Kershaw perfect with the bat
Although the afternoon didn’t provide many highlights for Kershaw or the Dodgers, him being the team’s first pitcher to bat this spring did make for one. The 32-year-old put together a competitive at-bat that ended with a sharp single down the third-base line.
“It’s never good when you’re a better hitter than a pitcher,” Kershaw quipped. “So I’ve got some things to work on obviously.”
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