The biggest step in Clayton Kershaw's track the majors came on Thursday night when he was pulled after facing 3 batters. By limiting his start to 1 inning, speculation is now running wild that his next start will come this upcoming Tuesday in Chicago.
Management put Double-A Jacksonville under strict rules that he was not to have surpassed 25 innings per month in order to keep his arm fresh and ready. In April, he pitched 25.2 innings with a 1.40 ERA, despite going 0-3. This month, he's at 17.2 IP with a 3.57 ERA. In 43.1 IP, he's K'd 47. The funny thing is, he hasn't even recorded a win! Talk about great run support...
What the Dodgers hope will happen is that he will make the same type of splash that Joba Chamberlain did for the Yankees last year. That's going to be really hard to do considering Joba's ERA was 0.38, which was a solo shot in 24 IP. Kershaw will be a starter, so his numbers will obviously not be as microscopic. Still, his stuff is just as good, with the ability to dazzle hitters that are not at all used to him. It's going to be exciting to watch.
Here's what I'm really pumped for. By starting Tuesday against the Cubs, his next start would be on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball in New York against the Mets. I'M GOING TO BE AT THAT GAME!!! I'm getting my hopes up, so I can only pray it won't be Chan Ho Park when it's all said and done. Being able to say I was at the 2nd start of Kershaw's career would be something special.
Get ready, Dodger fans, the best is yet to come.
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