Tag Archives: Clayton Kershaw

Jun 02

Game 59, 2014

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Today brings a couple of nice long-form pieces about the Dodgers and their family:

Here’s a wonderful profile of Vin Scully from Cee Angi at SB Nation.

And Jon W. has written about Yasiel Puig and his predecessors in supposed “uniqueness” in MLB. Jon argues that there have been plenty of guys who, when they first came up, were viewed in the same jaundiced way that Puig was last year after committing some of his baserunning mistakes and non-cutoff-man throwing “errors.”

White Sox (!) at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

It will be Clayton Kershaw (3-2, 3.57 ERA) for the Dodgers and Jose Quintana (3-4, 3.61 ERA) for the Sox. This will also be the Dodgers’ and their fans’ first opportunity to see the Pale Hose’s exciting rookie, 27-year-old Jose Abreu. He was the American League’s Player and Rookie of the Month for April of this year, but he’s been on the DL with a left ankle injury for the past two weeks.

Abreu and the Dodgers’ Puig know each other very well. They played together for Cienfuegos in the Cuban League a couple of years back. He also knows young Erisbel Arruebarrena, who’s currently holding down a spot on the Dodgers’ bench.

Lineup when available.

May 28

Game 54, 2014

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Reds at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

The Reds have had to face two excellent pitchers already in Ryu and Greinke, and tonight they get Kershaw. All he’s done is go 3-1 on the season with a 3.49 ERA and 2-1 lifetime with a 2.78 ERA against the Reds. In those games the Reds are hitting .214. The Reds send Homer Bailey out against the Dodgers. He’s 3-3 with a 4.01 ERA in eight career starts against them and 4-3 with a 5.34 ERA overall on the season.

Matt Kemp is playing left field because Crawford has been placed on the 15-day DL. The Dodgers have purchased Jamie Romak’s contract from the Isotopes. Romak has been playing mostly 1st and 3rd in Albuquerque with 8 games in the outfield. He’s a 28-year-old from Canada. This is his twelfth year of pro ball and his first callup to the major leagues.

According to Jay Jaffe at Sports Illustrated, Yasiel Puig is a “disappointing” fifth in the first release of All-Star ballots for the outfield, behind Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies, Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, Ryan Braun of the Brewers and Gioancarlo Stanton of the Marlins. Pack the ballot box, people!

May 23

Game 49, 2014

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Dodgers at Phillies, 4:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Kershaw got shelled in his last outing, but this is about as misleading a sentence as I’ve seen in a non-political story: “After a brilliant start in which he tossed seven shutout frames against the Nationals on May 6, Kershaw has given up 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings since.”

Right. 7 runs in 1 2/3 innings in his last start against the D-Backs. 3 runs in 7 innings against the Giants in the no-decision start before that with 9 strikeouts and no walks. Overall he’s 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA.

Of greater concern, he was hit on the right shin with a line drive during BP Wednesday and it had to be bandaged. Whenever a pitcher gets hit on a foot or leg I always get an instant memory of Dizzy Dean changing his delivery after being hit on the foot by Earl Averill in the 1937 All-Star Game and never being the same pitcher again.

His opponent will be Roberto Hernandez, who is 0-1 in his only career start against the Dodgers, last August when he was with the Rays. He’s 2-1 with a 3.98 ERA so far this season.

The Dodgers have improved their offense over the past 15 games, hitting .272 over that stretch. Over the past five games, Adrian Gonzalez is 9-for-19 with three home runs and six RBIs. Additionally, Matt Kemp is hitting .344 (22-for-64) since May 3. Over his career he’s hit .390 (23-for-59) in 15 games at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

May 17

Game 44, 2014

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 5:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Clayton Kershaw, who’s 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA, goes for the Dodgers. Chase Anderson, 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA, pitches for the D-Backs. The two have come close to meeting before, years ago.

Anderson is from McKinney, Texas, about 30 minutes from where Kershaw grew up in Highland Park.

The pair came within one game of facing each other in the Texas State High School playoffs, but Anderson’s team came up one game short.

“I threw the regional finals my senior year, we lost the game 2-1 or 3-2,” Anderson said. “I had 15 strikeouts. I would have pitched against Kershaw’s team in the first round of the playoffs in 2006, our senior year of high school, so that would have been a lot of fun.”

The two also came close to crossing paths on two other occasions.

“He was on the same summer ball team that following summer, but he got drafted so he went with the Dodgers and I went to play summer ball,” Anderson said. “He worked out at API [Athletes’ Performance Institute] a couple of offseasons ago where I worked out, but we never really ran into each other. We’re both Texas boys.”

That’s kind of startling. This is the 26-year-old Anderson’s second start in the major leagues. Kershaw, also 26 years old, will be making his 186th start in the bigs this evening. However much we appreciate Kershaw’s talent, it’s not enough.

Yasiel Puig now has an extra-base hit and an RBI in seven consecutive games. That feat is a subset of a fifteen-game hitting streak.

Lineup when available.

May 06

Game 34, 2014 — The Return of Kershaw

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Dodgers at Nationals, 4:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA

The Dodgers have been getting very good starting pitching this season, even without their ace. Tonight will be Kershaw’s first start since the Antipodean Opening Day on March 22 in Sydney, Australia. He’s had two successful rehab starts in the minors after getting the word from the docs that his shoulder muscle was healed.

The Nats send out Blake Treinen, a right-hander with a record of 0-0 with a 1.35 ERA. He’s been at AAA Syracuse. This will be his first career start.

Apr 16

Game 15, 2014

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Dodgers at Giants, 7:15PM PST on SPNLA and NBC Bay Area.

Maholm (0 -1 , 8.10 ERA) v. Vogelsong (0 – 0, 8.00 ERA). Vogelsong has allowed eight earned runs on 14 hits and three walks in nine innings pitched so far this season. Maholm allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in his only start so far.

If you remember yesterday’s starters, each had an ERA above 9.00. Tonight we have starters who each have an ERA below that, all the way down to 8.00. Progress!

Update: Clayton Kershaw’s frustrated by not being able to pitch and contribute $100 for each opposing batter he strikes out, he says, so he’s transferring his donation to his fellow pitchers’ strikeouts. If my addition is correct, that’s 139 strikeouts by the entire staff for $13,900.

Lineup when available.

Apr 07

A.J. Ellis to have surgery

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They’ve played 7 games and already Ellis is out with a meniscus tear and his batterymate Kershaw is out for a month.

It was not said how Ellis, who had four singles and four walks in 28 plate appearances to start the 2014 season, suffered the injury. Ellis was out in a bang-bang play at the plate Saturday but remained in the game, though he did not play Sunday.

Fedex will probably be recalled from AAA Albuquerque to replace him.

Old friend Nathan Eovaldi is talked up as a strong addition to your fantasy baseball team.

Apr 01

Game Four, 2014

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Dodgers at Padres, 3:40PM PST, TV: In LA, SportsNet LA. In San Diego, FSSD, FOX Deportes San Diego. Greinke v. Kennedy.

Lineup:

The middle of the Dodgers’ lineup has not yet begun to hit. Hanley Ramirez is hitting .091. Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .111. Andre Ethier is at .167. Anybody worried?

Update: Disappointing news about Kershaw from the pregame show: after an examination by Dr. Neal ElAttrache earlier today, his injury is “more serious” than previously thought. He may not be allowed to pitch for another two or three weeks.

Well, that stinks.

Mar 29

2014 Freeway Series, Game Three

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Haren faces Tyler Skaggs, a 23-year-old lefty.

Update: Much more important than this game, news came this afternoon that Kershaw has been placed on the 15-day Disabled List effective March 23.

the Dodgers are making no promises about when he will pitch again. Mainly, because there is little urgency in the season’s first few weeks given the spate of off-days, and because they want to remain ultra-conservative and make sure Kershaw is right when he returns.

Tests earlier this week showed the strained upper back muscle, behind his left shoulder. Mattingly said he does not know of any more tests scheduled as of now.

“We know what it is,” he said. “We’re not concerned that he’s going to do any damage to it.”

Mar 21

Opening Day (Night?), 2014

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It’s finally here, even if it is on another continent. Lineup:

Some of the adulation sent Kershaw’s way in the runup to this game makes me think he should be sent off to look for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. If he’s as good as some people want to make him out to be, he’s wasted pitching a mere baseball game right now.

Update: Take note of the standings for the NL West over there on the right under the calendar. Hopefully tomorrow it will have the Dodgers leading the division with the Diamondbacks in last place.