Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
In 41 2/3 innings over the past month, Clayton Kershaw has allowed one earned run that wasn’t the result of a home run.
- May 26 vs. Atlanta: seven innings, no runs
- June 1 at Colorado: seven innings, two runs (two-run homer by Nolan Arenado)
- June 6 vs. St. Louis: eight innings, no runs
- June 12 at San Diego: 6 2/3 innings, one run (solo homer by Clint Barmes)
- June 17 vs. Texas: six innings, four runs (two-run homer by Joey Gallo, fielder’s choice RBI by Rougned Odor, unearned run on RBI single by Odor)
- June 22 at Chicago: seven innings, three runs (two-run homer by Kris Bryant, solo homer by Matt Sczur)
Over those six starts, Kershaw has given up 23 hits, walked nine and struck out 58.
For the year, Kershaw has pitched exactly 100 innings and allowed 11 homers, or 0.99 per nine innings, which is a career-high rate alongside his career-high 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Kershaw lives to challenge hitters, and really the only problem for him for the past month is that for all of five times in the past 30 days, hitters have met the challenge with a hearty handshake.
Kershaw on his highest HR rate since rookie year: "If you make a bad pitch you make a bad pitch. Hopefully, they just stay in the ballpark.”
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 23, 2015
Kershaw called his June 17 loss to Texas his most frustrating, but he might have found a topper in tonight’s 4-2 defeat at Wrigley Field, where Kershaw was sure he had Bryant struck out on an 0-2, two-out, 94 mph fastball in the third inning (right), only for it to be ruled a ball.
The next pitch was a 73 mph curve that didn’t give Kershaw the break he needed, literally or figuratively, and Bryant jumped on it for the first of his two home runs.
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Kershaw then stewed while the lights at Wrigley Field went wonky in the sixth inning, which finally passed without the Cubs scoring, only for Chicago to tally what became the difference-making run in the seventh on Sczur’s home run.
On a night that Chicago turned three double plays against the Dodgers while also picking Yasiel Puig — the only runner in scoring position either team had — from second base, yeah, I’d say that had to be vexing.
Update: Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has more, including quotes from Kershaw.
