The Los Angeles Dodgers drew a large crowd Tuesday afternoon at Camelback Ranch for their second matchup of the spring with the San Francisco Giants. Those in attendance got to witness an anomaly as Clayton Kershaw issued a leadoff walk to open the game.
It was the first baserunner the left-handed ace permitted through two-plus starts this spring. Gorkys Hernandez’s time on the bases was short lived as he was thrown out by Yasmani Grandal on a stolen base attempt.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner once again was dominant, and Hernandez finished as the lone batter to reach against Kershaw in three innings.
With another hitless performance under his belt, Kershaw said he’s pleased with the point he’s at thus far, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“I feel good physically and feel like the ball is coming out OK, so I think I’m where I need to be,” said Kershaw, who walked the first batter he faced on a 3-2 pitch. “Results really don’t matter, but I guess it’s good to see how hitters react to certain pitches, and if you’re not giving up hits, that’s a good thing.”
Through three Cactus League starts, Kershaw has thrown six hitless innings, issued one walk and collected five strikeouts. He’s next slated to start in one of the Dodgers’ split-squad games on Sunday, either facing the Kansas City Royals or Chicago White Sox.
Including Sunday, Kershaw can make up four more starts during exhibition play. Though, Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt previously indicated he planned to provide starting pitchers with extra rest near the midway point of Spring Training.
Come the regular season, Kershaw will tie Don Sutton for the Dodgers franchise record of string of consecutive starts on Opening Day (seven). Don Drysdale also started seven season openers, though only four were in succession.
