Dodger BlueDodger BlueDodger Blue
  • Dodgers News
    • MLB News
  • Rumors
  • Schedules
    • 2025 Spring Training
    • 2025 Dodger Stadium giveaways
    • 2025 regular season
  • Team
    • Active roster
    • Salaries
  • Video
  • Odds
    • MLB Odds
    • NHL Odds
    • NFL Odds
    • NBA Odds
    • NCAAF Odds
    • NCAAB Odds
    • CFL Odds
    • UFC Odds
    • Boxing Odds
    • MLS Odds
    • PGA Odds
  • About
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
Font ResizerAa
Dodger BlueDodger Blue
Font ResizerAa
  • Dodgers News
  • Rumors
  • Schedules
  • Team
  • Video
  • Odds
  • About
Search
  • Dodgers News
    • MLB News
  • Rumors
  • Schedules
    • 2025 Spring Training
    • 2025 Dodger Stadium giveaways
    • 2025 regular season
  • Team
    • Active roster
    • Salaries
  • Video
  • Odds
    • MLB Odds
    • NHL Odds
    • NFL Odds
    • NBA Odds
    • NCAAF Odds
    • NCAAB Odds
    • CFL Odds
    • UFC Odds
    • Boxing Odds
    • MLS Odds
    • PGA Odds
  • About
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
Follow US
© 2024 Medium Large Sports Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Dodger Blue > Dodgers News > Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw Combating Dip In Velocity By Relying More Heavily On Slider
Dodgers News

Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw Combating Dip In Velocity By Relying More Heavily On Slider

Matt Borelli
April 16, 2018
4 Min Read
clayton kershaw
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports
SHARE

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw entered the 2018 season with a lot to digest. Not only was the left-hander coming off his first career World Series appearance, but he will eventually need to make a decision on whether to exercise an opt-out clause and test free agency this winter.

The 2018 season marks Kershaw’s 11th in the big leagues and first since joining the 30-club. Back injuries have plagued the three-time Cy Young Award winner in recent years, but he quickly put an end to any of those concerns with 21.2 scoreless innings in Cactus League play.

Now four starts into his regular season campaign, and Kershaw still looks like his usual self. To date, he has posted a 1.73 ERA, 3.02 FIP and 0.89 WHIP over 26 innings with 31 strikeouts to just three walks.

Kershaw is currently allowing more home runs than ever before, as evidenced by his career-high 1.4 home runs per nine innings. But he is still generating plenty of swings and misses while maintaining control of the strike zone.

That’s despite Kershaw seeing a noticeable velocity drop on all of pitches. His four-seam fastball is down from an average of 93.1 mph during the World Series to 91.9 mph in April.

As a result, Kershaw has begun to rely less heavily on his fastball in favor of his trustworthy slider. Last April, Kershaw utilized his four-seamer roughly 51 percent of time, compared to 28.8 percent for his slider.

Those numbers have drastically shifted just one year later. Kershaw is only deploying his fastball 40.8 percent of the time now, in comparison to his slider’s usage of 41.5 percent.

In his most recent start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Jackie Robinson Day, in which Kershaw was honored to take the mound for, he allowed just one run on two hits over seven innings and struck out 12 batters without issuing a walk.

That effort earned Kershaw his first win of the season, and helped the Dodgers snap an 11-game regular-season losing streak against their divisional rival.

Kershaw registered a season-high whiff rate of 26.3 percent when throwing his slider against the Diamondbacks. He immediately had a good feel for the pitch and registered his second of 12 strikeouts on the day by getting Paul Goldschmidt to chase out of the zone in the first inning.

“[Kershaw] threw a really good one to [Paul Goldschmidt],” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Arm side, backdoor slider. He just started to get in his rhythm right there in the middle of his outing.

“He was shaping his slider; making it shorter when he needed to, making it bigger when he needed to. Working both sides of the plate. Austin [Barnes] did a great job back there. They were synced up today. Can’t say enough about that outing and how much we needed it.”

All-in-all, Kershaw generated a swing percentage of 60.5 when deploying his slider against the Diamondbacks. Over two-thirds of the opposing hacks went for misses, as Kershaw produced a whiffs per swing percentage of 43.5 with his slider.

“The slider was better today,” Kershaw said. “I made some shapes on it, threw it to the arm side a little more today. We’re going to face the Diamondbacks, like, four times within the first two months, and same thing with the Giants.

“You can’t be predictable. I was fortunate to get through seven. We needed a win today, so it was good.”

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
TAGGED:Clayton KershawLos Angeles Dodgers
ByMatt Borelli
Matt Borelli covers the Los Angeles Dodgers as a staff writer for Dodger Blue and holds similar responsibilities for Lakers Nation, a sister site with an emphasis on the Los Angeles Lakers. He also contributes to RamsNewswire.com and RaidersNewswire.com. An avid fantasy sports player, Matt is a former 2014 MLB Beat the Streak co-champion. His favorite Dodgers moment, among a list of many, is Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies in 2014. Follow him on Twitter: @mcborelli.
Ad imageAd image
Sign Up for Our Newsletter
Get breaking Dodgers News direct to your inbox.

You Might Also Like

Dodgers News: Andrew Friedman Satisified With Core Players On Roster
Dodgers News

Dodgers News: Andrew Friedman Satisified With Core Players On Roster

December 13, 2015
December 14, 2015
Early Prediction Of Dodgers’ 25-man Roster
Dodgers News

Andrew Friedman: ‘No Doubt In My Mind’ Dave Roberts Is Best Manager For Dodgers

May 14, 2018
May 14, 2018
Dodgers Acquire Frankie Montas In 3-team Trade With Reds And White Sox
Dodgers News

Dodgers News: Frankie Montas To Miss 2-4 Months After Rib Surgery

February 12, 2016
February 12, 2016
George Lombard, Max Scherzer, Justin Turner
Dodgers News

Talent Evaluator Believes Nationals Have ‘Better Team’ Than Other Clubs, Would Bet On Mets To Represent National League In 2019 World Series

August 9, 2019
August 10, 2019

Categories

  • News
  • Rumors
  • Games
  • History

Information

  • Advertise
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Get breaking Dodgers News direct to your inbox.

© 2025 Medium Large Sports Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?

  • 日本語
  • 한국어