Business As Usual For Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw delayed his starts with a slight injury to simply dominate the Los Angeles Angels on his return to the mound Saturday. He pitched a two hit shutout gem striking out seven batters en route to the Dodgers winning game two of the freeway series 3-1. He increased his streak to 37 innings without giving up an earned run.

All eyes were on the matchup between MVP’s Kershaw and Mike Trout. The 26-year-old leftie got the upper hand in the duel versus arguably the best player in baseball. Trout went 0-3 against Kershaw.

Kershaw said of his performance, courtesy of the L.A. Daily News,

"“I think my fastball command got a little better as the game went on,” he said. “It’s crazy what an extra three days off will do. I don’t like days off, apparently. My off-speed stuff wasn’t as sharp as it has been in the past, and coupled with the Angels not swinging at anything in the dirt, made it a little bit difficult at first. They had a really good game plan and stuck with it, but I was able to get some quick innings in the middle and I was fortunate to get through eight today.”"

The reigning NL MVP missed his previous starts because of soreness on his hip and glute prompting Kershaw to not participate in his third annual Ping Pong 4 Purpose event. The star-studded table tennis tournament is part of the Kershaw’s Challenge foundation where Kershaw and his wife Ellen help underprivileged kids. Currently the Kershaw foundation has charities in Los Angeles, Dallas, Zambia and the Dominican Republic.

A flurry of celebrities and athletes participated in the Ping Pong tournament. Several athletes from the Dodgers, LA Clippers and LA Kings were on hand showing their support and partaking in the tournament. Blake Griffin, Howie Kendrick, Kike Hernandez, Scott Van Slyke and Andre Ethier were just some of the players. A-List celebs like Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the event, George Lopez, Ken Jeong and Josh Duhamel were present as well.

All special guests strolled thru the blue carpet and posed for the media (including LA Sports Hub). They also gave interviews and shared their immense support for one the most charitable athletes in sports. Kershaw welcomed each and every one of his guests as they came in.

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The three-time Cy Young award recipient had an interesting few days but it’s great to see him back to his old dominant self. The month of July that Kershaw and teammate Greinke put together was something to see. Both were nearly unhittable in that time frame. Unfortunately Greinke’s scoreless streak ended at 45.2, but Kershaw could make a run at Orel Hershiser’s major league record streak of 59.

The Dodgers with their new additions from the 13-player blockbuster trade have added some much needed pitching depth. Behind the All-Star duo of Kershaw and Greinke, the Dodgers will look to change their playoff fortunes in October. Will it be enough? LA currently is 1.5 games over the Giants in the NL West.

With Kershaw (9-6) locked in again, Dodger fans can rest easy. His ERA is down to 2.37, is the league leader in strikeouts (192) and holding batters to 1.99 BA, fourth best in the majors. Safe to say he’s back to his normal self.

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