On March 31, 2011, Clayton Kershaw made his first career Opening Day start when the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.
Kershaw was 23 years of age in 2011 and that was the season he really established himself as one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, winning his first of three Cy Young Awards and being named an All-Star for the first time.
He kicked off that season against the defending World Series champion Giants on Opening Day, starting opposite a two-time Cy Young Award winner in Tim Lincecum.
Both pitchers brought their A games, but Kershaw was just a bit better to lead the Dodgers to a 2-1 victory. He tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out nine and walking one on 96 pitches.
Lincecum allowed five hits and a run in his seven innings, although it was unearned. The Dodgers got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Matt Kemp walked and later crossed the plate on a throwing error by Buster Posey.
L.A. then added another run in the eighth on another walk by Kemp, who scored on a double off the bat of James Loney. Jonathan Broxton entered in the ninth with a 2-0 lead and despite allowing a solo home run to Pat Burrell, he was able to pick up the save and help Kershaw and the Dodgers earn a victory.
That marked the start of an outstanding season for Kershaw as he went 21-5 with a 2.28 ERA, 2.47 FIP and 0.98 WHIP with 248 strikeouts and 54 walks in 233.1 innings across 33 starts.
It also began a streak of a franchise-record eight straight Opening Day starts for the Dodgers left-hander, which came to an end in 2019 when he began the season on the injured list and Hyun-Jin Ryu got the nod on Opening Day.
Kershaw has been brilliant in all eight of his Opening Day starts, going 5-1 with a 1.05 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched. The Dodgers have won seven of the eight games, with the lone loss coming in 2018 against the Giants despite him only allowing one run in six innings.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram! It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
