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Dodgers Video: Clayton Kershaw Collects 9 Strikeouts On Opening Day

Matthew Moreno
2 Min Read
Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres met to begin the regular season for a second straight year. While the scene shifted from Dodger Stadium to Petco Park in 2016, Clayton Kershaw was nonetheless on the mound for a sixth consecutive Opening Day start.

Kershaw entered 3-0 with 1.14 ERA in season openers, with the Dodgers going 5-0 in those games. He’d thrown at least six innings in each of the four of the five starts; only failing to do so in 2012 when he tossed three shutout frames and was removed because of a stomach flu.

Monday came with much of the same from the left-handed ace, who was spotted 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to Chase Utley, Corey Seager and Adrian Gonzalez combining for one single, two doubles and two RBIs.

Kershaw went to a full count against Jon Jay in the bottom of the first before getting the Padres center fielder to whiff on a pitch outside of the zone for his first strikeout. Jay then came back in the third inning and dropped a single into left field that ended Kershaw’s early no-hit bid.

Although a potential no-hitter was lost, Kershaw continued to overpower Padres hitters. He finished with nine strikeouts over seven scoreless innings, improving to 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA in six Opening Day starts.

As for the Dodgers, their 15-0 win was the largest shutout victory on Opening Day in Major League baseball history.

Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com