Kershaw stops another skid, striking out 12 in Jackie Robinson Day gem
by Rowan Kavner
Before Jackie Robinson Day began Sunday, before Don Newcombe was honored prior to the game, before the Dodgers and Diamondbacks took the field April 15 in their №42 jerseys, Matt Kemp stopped by the Jackie Robinson statue that sits in the Left-Field Pavilion, a monument he’s wanted to witness but never had before.
It was a special moment for Kemp on a day about baseball but also beyond it, a day to recall a legend whose accomplishments for the sport and the nation extend far beyond the field of play and any single game or season.
“It gives us a chance to get out of our little bubble and get a little perspective,” manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 7–2 win, which snapped a three-game skid and marked their first victory against the Diamondbacks this year. “I know that word (perspective) is thrown around a lot, but yeah, when you talk about Jackie Robinson and being a Dodger, it’s a little, ‘Man, things aren’t that bad.’ For us, for me personally, you need that sometimes.”
The Dodgers looked like a team rejuvenated. Or, they at least appeared to be a team unbothered by the haze that hung over their offense through the first 13 games of 2018. It helped having №22 — or, in this rare case, №42 — on the mound to ease the Dodgers back to normal.
Clayton Kershaw has become the de facto “stopper” when things turn south. Last year, after their season-long 11-game losing streak, it was Kershaw on the mound Sept. 12 to stop the slide. This year, after a four-game losing streak, Kershaw allowed one run in seven innings against San Francisco in an eventual extra-innings win. And on Sunday, with the then-four-win Dodgers entering the series finale against Arizona in need of a commanding start, he halted the skid.
Even by Kershaw’s standards, the Dodger ace and his unsolvable slider were particularly imposing Sunday afternoon.
“It’s huge having Kersh in times like this,” said Chris Taylor, who drove in three runs and hit his team-leading third home run of the year. “We’ve lost a couple in a row, and to be able to have the luxury of him going out there and stopping a streak or whatever the case may be … it seems like when we need a win, he’s always the guy who comes through for us.”
Kershaw allowed one run on two hits in seven innings, striking out two in each of his first six innings and overcoming a 25-pitch first inning to average half of that his final six frames. He struck out 12 batters without issuing a walk, marking the ninth time in his career he’s accomplished such a feat.
Ten of the 12 strikeouts came via the slider, which seemed to move however much or however little he wanted. It was also the first time this year Kershaw struck out at least 10 batters and the eighth time since the start of last year.
“The slider was better today,” Kershaw said. “I mixed some shapes on it, I threw it to the arm-side a little bit more today. We’re going to face the Diamondbacks, like, four times within the first two months. Same thing with the Giants. You can’t be predictable.”
He kept Arizona hitters guessing all day. But as dominant as he was, the Dodgers would need to do more offensively than the three runs they gave Kershaw in his first three starts of the season to stop the sweep.
With patience, they backed up their ace.
After a seven-pitch first inning for Arizona’s Zack Godley, who had allowed one walk in his first two starts of 2018, lengthy at-bats followed. The Dodgers, who entered tied for the fourth-fewest walks in baseball, walked a combined six times in the first three innings against Godley.
In the second inning, two walks helped load the bases. The same happened in the third. By the end of three innings, the Dodgers’ four runs gave Kershaw more support than he had in his first three starts combined.
“Very impressive collectively by our offensive group,” Roberts said. “When we’re at our best, that’s what we’re doing.”
To continue that, the Dodgers will need to remain the offense and the team they looked like Sunday, though they won’t get the pageantry of Jackie Robinson Day to stop the monotony and help break out of their bubble again.
While some may say a win wasn’t vital only 14 games into the season, their meticulous ace sees a different approach the Dodgers need to take going forward as they try to build off Sunday’s series-ending win on a three-game road trip to San Diego.
“The whole ‘don’t panic because it’s too early’ thing doesn’t work if you’re using that in the back of your mind as an excuse,” Kershaw said. “‘Ah, it’s early, we’ll figure it out,’ doesn’t really work, because then you’ve got to figure it out at some point… There needs to be a sense of urgency.”
