Clayton Kershaw – Page 7 – Dodger Thoughts

By Jon Weisman

… we’ll storm the barricades? I don’t know. The point is, Corey Seager deserves to start at shortstop for the National League in the July 12 All-Star Game, and no one really questions this. Just today, he was a unanimous pick among six ESPN sportswriters.

The fact remains, however, that Seager was 658,748 votes (yeah, I did the math) behind Cubs shortstop Addison Russell with under four days remaining before the fan vote ended. So fans of justice and the 22-year-old shortstop probably need to count on Seager being chosen as a reserve.

How exactly does that happen? Here’s a refresher course, courtesy of Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com …

Nine reasons not to give up on the Dodgers (for real)

By Jon Weisman

On July 1, 2016

In Status report, Thinking out loud

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

So, something went awry Thursday with the Dodgers’ march to an 0-83 finish. They won.

Does that delay the inevitable? When the news came that Clayton Kershaw was going on the disabled list, that was the final straw on 2016 for some. Maybe many. Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-2016), RIP.

But yes, I’m here to remind you that there is reason not to give up. In fact, here are nine of them, one for every inning of this glorious, vexing game.

I offer these not because I’m blind to what can go wrong, but for those who are blind to what can go right.

Clayton Kershaw to avoid back surgery

By Jon Weisman

On June 30, 2016

In Health/injuries

Here’s the Dodgers’ official update on injured ace Clayton Kershaw:

Yesterday, Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw was examined by Dr. Robert Watkins Jr. in Los Angeles after experiencing low back discomfort. Following an MRI, it was determined that he has a mild disc herniation that will not require surgery. We will know more about his recovery time at a later date.

Tomorrow, it is expected that he will be officially be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Dave Roberts confirmed in Milwaukee after today’s 8-1 victory that newly acquired Bud Norris will start for the Dodgers in their homestand opener Friday.

— Jon Weisman

Clayton Kershaw heads to 15-day disabled list

By Jon Weisman

On June 30, 2016

In Health/injuries, Pitching, Transactions

Clayton Kershaw pitches to Bryce Harper on June 20. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

Clayton Kershaw will finish the first half of the 2016 MLB season on the 15-day disabled list, Dave Roberts told reporters today.

Roberts said before today’s game in Milwaukee that Kershaw received an epidural in his lower back Wednesday after flying back early to Los Angeles. The Dodgers have not yet chosen who will take his scheduled Friday start, though Carlos Frias is a leading internal candidate if the Dodgers essentially decide to make it a bullpen game. A roster move has not officially been announced.

Clayton Kershaw having back examined in Los Angeles

By Jon Weisman

On June 28, 2016

In Health/injuries, Pregame

Dodgers at Brewers, 5:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Howie Kendrick, LF
Corey Seager, SS
Adrián González, 1B
Trayce Thompson, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Chris Taylor, 3B
Julio Urías, P
Note: Days off for Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner, both of whom are expected to play Wednesday.

By Jon Weisman

Clayton Kershaw is returning to Los Angeles early to visit team doctors about lower back soreness he is experiencing, Dave Roberts confirmed to reporters before tonight’s game in Milwaukee.

As Ken Gurnick of MLB.com noted Monday, Roberts said that Kershaw has been dealing with some stiffness the past few weeks.

Kershaw has rare stumble in loss to Pirates

By Jon Weisman

On June 26, 2016

In Postgame

Justin Berl/Getty Images

By Jon Weisman

Ever so rarely, Clayton Kershaw will be less than perfect, and the baseball world will scramble its jets to understand why.

Almost without fail, the why is beside the point. The essential answer is that nobody is always perfect. Not even Kershaw.

In the second inning tonight, the Pirates ambushed the likely National League All-Star starter, scoring every run that it needed in a 4-3 victory, Pittsburgh’s eighth straight home win against the Dodgers.

Kershaw has lost two of those games, allowing four runs on nine hits with two walks in each. In only one other game in the past 12 months has Kershaw allowed at least four runs.

The unabridged list of Clayton Kershaw walks in 2016

By Jon Weisman

On June 26, 2016

In Pregame

Click to enlarge.

Dodgers at Pirates, 5:07 p.m.
Kershaw CCLVIII: Kershaws I Lay Dying
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Howie Kendrick, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Clayton Kershaw, P
Note: Dave Roberts told reporters today that Adrian Gonzalez will be out of the starting lineup tonight and Monday.

By Jon Weisman

There’s the list, the list of the seven times in the 2016 baseball season any of the 414 batters Clayton Kershaw has faced managed to get a base on balls.

They haven’t come in consecutive starts since the first week of the campaign. At his stingiest, Kershaw walked one person (David Wright) in a 156-batter, 33-day stretch.

None of them have scored, with two reaching scoring position.

Kenley Jansen breaks franchise save record

By Jon Weisman

On June 20, 2016

In Awards, History, Postgame

Save #162. #WeLoveLA pic.twitter.com/uDOwlxW1Gl

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 21, 2016

By Jon Weisman

With a grounder by Anthony Rendon to Justin Turner and a throw to first, Kenley Jansen closed out the Dodgers 4-1 victory over Washington tonight and set the Dodgers’ all-time saves record with the 162nd of his career.

Jansen broke the tie he had forged with Eric Gagne on June 15. It was also Jansen’s 20th save of the season, making him the first Dodger to have five such seasons.

Eric Gagné calls @kenleyjansen74 to congratulate him on breaking his franchise record. #WeLoveLA pic.twitter.com/qijE2vkeUn

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 21, 2016

As was the case for his first career save on July 25, 2010, Jansen sealed a victory for Clayton Kershaw, who pitched six shutout innings before allowing his only run in the seventh inning.

Despite pitching in unKershawly heat, the Dodger lefty’s ERA dipped from 1.58 to 1.57, but more dramatically, he fanned eight (including Bryce Harper thrice) while walking none, improving his dominant strikeout/walk ratio to 144/7, or 20.1 to you and me.

Emergency starter Yusmeiro Petit pitched admirably for Washington, going six innings on 90 minutes notice, but was victimized by four extra-base hits, including a pair of homers (by Justin Turner and Joc Pederson) and a pair of doubles (by Corey Seager and Corey Seager).

For Turner, it was his seventh homer of June (since June 7, in fact), giving him the team lead for the month over Seager. The last Dodger …

to hit more in June was Matt Kemp, with nine in 2011.
to hit double-digits in June was Shawn Green, with 12 in 2002.
to be Pedro Guerrero in June was Pedro Guerrero, with 15 in 1985.

In case you missed it: Old glove, new Kershaw

By Jon Weisman

On June 17, 2016

In Draft, Health/injuries, In case you missed it

By Jon Weisman

In this video clip, Vin Scully talks about how new Dodger outfielder Will Venable is using an actual old glove of Dave Roberts from 2005, seen above.

[mlbvideo id=”822737883″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
Here are some more notes and news from the past week …

Cali Ann’s getting a sibling. Clayton and Ellen Kershaw have a second baby on the way, due in November. Andy McCullough of the Times has the news in this Father’s Day-themed interview with Kershaw, which talks at length about the softening effect parenthood has had on the Dodger ace.
Monday’s nationally televised series-opener (ESPN) against the Washington Nationals figures to match Stephen Strasburg (2.90 ERA) against Clayton Kershaw (1.58 ERA). I’m not into win-loss records, but even a cynic like me about them finds it a little glamorous that the two pitchers are a combined 20-1. Reminder: Strasburg is four months and one day younger than Kershaw.
The Dodgers officially announced the signing of the following draft picks: shortstop Errol Robinson (sixth round), right-hander Andre Scrubb (eighth round), right-hander Dean Kremer (14th round), outfielder Darien Tubbs (16th round), third basemen Brock Carpenter (20th round), right-hander Jeff Paschke (22nd round), second baseman Brandon Montgomery (26th round) and catcher Steve Berman (31st round).
Ross Stripling gave a progress report to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com regarding his current hiatus from game action.
Chad Billingsley said he hasn’t given up, but the former Dodger right-hander, who hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch in 11 months, told Bruce Hefflinger of the Defiance Crescent-News (his hometown newspaper) that it was “most likely” that his career was over.
Scott Radinsky, the one-time Dodger reliever who is the Angels’ bullpen coach, is thankfully recovering from April open-heart surgery after a big scare.
Former Dodger catcher Tim Federowicz was designated for assignment by the Cubs.

Van Slyke homer sets up win for Kershaw, record-tying save for Jansen

By Jon Weisman

On June 15, 2016

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

You’ve got Clayton Kershaw on the mound. You just want that big hit.

With two out in the sixth inning, 10 Dodgers had reached base, but that critical blow remained but a dream.

Then, Scott Van Slyke made Dodger wishes come true, following singles by Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick with a 405-foot, three-run homer to left to give the Dodgers their first lead. Kershaw made it stand up for his 7 1/3 innings and 11 strikeouts, and Joe Blanton and Kenley Jansen closed the doors and windows for a 3-2 Dodger victory at Arizona.

Dodger all-time save leaders
161 Eric Gagne
161 Kenley Jansen
129 Jeff Shaw
127 Todd Worrell
125 Jim Brewer

For Jansen, it was his 161st career save, tying the Dodger franchise record set by Eric Gagne. Jansen’s first career save was July 25, 2010, to protect a win for … Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw struck out at least 10 and walked no more than one, for the ninth time this season. Curt Schilling holds the MLB record with 13 such games in 2002.

Clayton Kershaw’s eccentric experience at Chase Field

By Jon Weisman

On June 15, 2016

In Pregame

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 12:40 p.m.
Kershaw CCLVI: Kersh Off the Boat
Kiké Hernández, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Corey Seager, SS
Trayce Thompson, RF
Adrian González, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Scott Van Slyke, RF
A.J. Ellis, C
Howie Kendrick, LF
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

Chase Field has been a mixed bag for baseball’s best pitcher.

Clayton Kershaw pitches there today for the first time since April 11, 2015, when Arizona scored in four different innings — five earned runs in all — in what was his roughest outing of the season.

It was Kershaw’s worst performance since May 17, 2014, when he was knocked out with seven runs in 1 2/3 innings — also at Chase Field.

In between, however, Kershaw one of his vintage starts, striking out 10 while allowing only an unearned run over eight innings at Chase on August 27, 2014.

Overall, Kershaw has a 3.90 ERA in 67 career innings at Arizona. Exactly half of his 12 appearances there have been quality starts, and the Dodgers are 5-7 in those games. On the seven occasions Kershaw has allowed more than one run at Chase, the Dodgers are 1-6.

Turner’s homer is the save for Kershaw

By Jon Weisman

On June 10, 2016

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

Yep. Uh-huh. Yeah.

You figured Clayton Kershaw would pitch well at San Francisco. He did. You figured the Dodger offense would struggle at San Francisco. It did.

But how would it end?

Thanks to Justin Turner’s heroics, happily for the Dodgers.

Turner’s ninth-inning home run off Santiago Castilla — the Dodgers’ first hit since the first inning — made a winner of Kershaw and Los Angeles over Johnny Cueto and the Giants, 3-2.

The 10th anniversary of drafting Clayton Kershaw

By Jon Weisman

On June 6, 2016

In Draft, History

Flanked by Dodger scout Calvin Jones and his mother Marianne, 18-year-old Clayton Kershaw signs with the Dodgers. (Ben Platt/MLB.com)

By Jon Weisman

On June 6, 2006, the Dodgers made their best single front-office decision of this century and long before it.

Bullpen preserves victory for Kershaw, Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On June 4, 2016

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

For the first time this season, the Dodgers asked their bullpen to go three innings to protect a Clayton Kershaw lead — a 1-0 lead at that.

And the bullpen, which is back on one of its hot streaks during an eventful season, did the job.

Joe Blanton, Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen made Kershaw’s six shutout innings stand up, and the Dodgers scored late to finish with a 4-0 victory over Atlanta.

Kershaw named National League Pitcher of the Month

By Jon Weisman

On June 2, 2016

In Awards

By Jon Weisman

Honestly, if there had been a Nobel Pitcher Prize, Clayton Kershaw would have earned it in May.

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Clayton Kershaw (Page 7 of 36)

If Corey Seager doesn’t win the All-Star fan vote …

Nine reasons not to give up on the Dodgers (for real)

Clayton Kershaw to avoid back surgery

Clayton Kershaw heads to 15-day disabled list

Clayton Kershaw having back examined in Los Angeles

Kershaw has rare stumble in loss to Pirates

The unabridged list of Clayton Kershaw walks in 2016

Kenley Jansen breaks franchise save record

In case you missed it: Old glove, new Kershaw

Van Slyke homer sets up win for Kershaw, record-tying save for Jansen

Clayton Kershaw’s eccentric experience at Chase Field

Turner’s homer is the save for Kershaw

The 10th anniversary of drafting Clayton Kershaw

Bullpen preserves victory for Kershaw, Dodgers

Kershaw named National League Pitcher of the Month

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