That wall Clayton Kershaw had been running into in recent starts? He just broke through it.
Kershaw posted his latest dominant outing on Monday, throwing a complete game, two-hit shutout as the Dodgers beat the Tigers, 4-0. How did two of those runs score? On a single by Kershaw. You could say he did it all.
The Dodgers got things started in the first. Juan Uribe has been in a horrible slump pretty much all season, so Don Mattingly gave him a second straight start in the #2 hole. It worked in this one, as he took a full count pitch out to left for his fourth homer of the year and a 1-0 lead.
The defense gave Kershaw some support in the third. The Tigers mustered only two hits on the night, but one of them came here on a leadoff double by Ryan Raburn. He went to third on a groundout and stayed there when Brad Penny struck out. With two down now, Dioner Navarro executed a perfect throw behind to nail him at third to get the last out. It was great communication between he and Uribe.
After wasting a couple of good opportunities in the fourth and fifth, the Dodgers tacked on another run in the sixth. James Loney started it with a double, his eighth of the season. An out later, Navarro stroked an RBI double to go up 2-0. The Dodgers still aren't hitting much, but that's two straight games in which Navarro has provided big at-bats.
From there it was all about Kershaw, as he refused to let the Tigers get settled in. In fact, he got even better as the innings wore on. And when he wasn't dealing, he was giving himself some room for comfort with his bat. In the eighth, Matt Kemp walked leading off and Loney singled for two on. Kemp then stole third and Loney took second on an error by Victor Martinez.
Navarro was soon given the intentional walk to pitch to Jamey Carroll, who grounded into a forceout for two down. Kershaw didn't exactly kill the ball, but found a perfect spot to ground one through the infield for a two-run single and 4-0 advantage.
The ninth inning was the sweetest, as Kershaw struck out the side to put an exclamation point on arguably the best outing of his career. He finished with 11 strikeouts and only one walk to run his record to 7-3 with a 3.01 ERA.
Over his last two starts, Kershaw has thrown 16 innings, giving up only one run on six hits, walking three and striking out 15. If you recall, he went through a couple of rough patches before that in which he started off the game very well, then got hit hard in the middle innings. That seems like a distant memory now.
The National League is loaded with power arms, so to make the All-Star game as a starting pitcher, you know you earned it. There should be no doubt after last night that Kershaw has earned it. He leads the league in strikeouts at 117 (Halladay has 114 with one less start), and is right up there in innings pitched, ERA, WHIP, and BAA.
By my calculations, if the Dodgers stay on the current rotation, then Kershaw's last start before the All-Star game will be on Thursday, July 7 against the Mets. That means when the All-Star game hits that following Tuesday, he will be pitching on his normal rest. If he can look good over his next three starts before the break, then he has a legitimate shot at being named the starter simply because of rest. Come on, Bruce Bochy, throw him a bone!
But that's looking way ahead, so let's focus on this one for now. Loney and Uribe had good games, and Lord knows they could use it. Loney went 3-for-4 with two runs and a double. To his credit, he's been hitting very well in June to the tune of a .322 average. He still doesn't provide much power, but at least he's hitting.
The Dodgers now have two straight shutout victories, which is tough to do against anyone. Tonight's starter is Chad Billingsley, and he has a lot to prove. As great as Kershaw has been, Bills has not. At the end of May his ERA stood at 3.46. Three horrible starts later, it's now at 4.65. He'll look to turn things around against Max Scherzer, who's had a great year with a 9-2 record.
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