Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw is not as dominant as he once was

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3, following the first grand slam ever hit off Clayton Kershaw.

Don’t get me wrong, Clayton Kershaw is still in the running for the best pitcher on planet earth with Chris Sale, Corey Kluber and Max Scherzer. Kershaw has set the precedent for these guys, and year after year the Los Angeles Dodgers ace continues to dominate opposing batters. However, whether it is fatigue, injury or age, Kershaw is not as dominant as he once was.

Again, Kershaw is still a menace on the mound and shuts out some of the best in baseball. In 25 starts Kershaw has a 17-4 record, a 2.26 ERA and 194 strikeouts. If it weren’t for injury the last two seasons, Kershaw could be flirting with his third consecutive 300 strike out season.

Even with missed time, Kershaw has the ninth-best pitching WAR according to FanGraphs and has the best ERA with at least 160 innings pitched. The southpaw is still regarded as the best in the majors. However, that gap to the next best has shrunk, a lot.

Kershaw’s kryptonite this season, which ironically has been the Dodgers strongest asset, is the depth of the starting rotation. Games in which Kershaw is coming off of five days of rest he has a 5-3 record and a 3.58 ERA. On normal four days rest the ace is 9-1 with a 1.74 ERA.

We have seen two instances of this in recent weeks, as well. Last night Kershaw was cruising through five scoreless frames, allowing just two hits. In the sixth, Kershaw issued two walks and a soft infield single. With two outs, Aaron Altherr blasted the first ever grand slam off of Kershaw. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ bats failed to come back.

Last night seemed to be pure misfortune for Kershaw. However, two weeks ago Kershaw took the mound against the Rockies on five days rest. He let up three runs in the first and four runs altogether across three and 2/3 innings pitched. The Rockies tagged him, that is without question.

The entire season this narrative has played out. Kershaw seemingly has to work slightly harder, gets himself in more situations and has seemed human. For the first time in several seasons, Kershaw is not this pitching god, he is human once more.

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Kershaw has already let up 21 home runs this season, the most in any year of his career. In 2013 and 2014, Kershaw’s best two seasons, the ace let up a combined 20 long bombs. His walk rate, 1.7, is the highest it has been since 2013.

A myriad of factors could tie into Kershaw’s slight regression. For one, although it seems to be just a conspiracy theory, many speculate that the MLB has “juiced” the balls to increase home runs. However, the likely answer is merely fatigue and injury. Kershaw has battled back injury the last two seasons following the biggest workload in the MLB.

From 2011 to 2015 Kershaw had the second most innings pitched behind just James Shields. At the time of his injury last season he was first. Not to mention he is getting older, although he is still only 29. While Kershaw is still the best to do it, we may have seen him peak from 2013-2016.

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At the end of the day, Kershaw is still one of the best to do it and his pitching will be pivotal for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series hopes. However, for the first time in a long time, the Los Angeles Dodgers ace stands closer to his peers.