Clayton Kershaw (35-LA Dodgers), the “living legend” on the mound, leads the league in wins. He’s also shut down the hot-hitting Shohei Ohtani (29-Angels).
Kershaw pitched seven innings of five-hit ball with two walks and five strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California, on April 21.
Kershaw was clean against the Angels’ offense. He retired the first eight batters he faced after getting Taylor Ward-Otani-Mike Trout to fly out to center 토토사이트 field in the first inning. He had a runner on second base in the third inning, but got out of it without giving up a hit.
Of course, there was a hiccup. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Kershaw gave up a double to left-center field to No. 5 Hunter Renfroe, and pinch-hitter Brandon Drury drove in the winning run. The Dodgers tagged Drury out on a replay from center fielder to shortstop to catcher. The initial call was safe, but was overturned after video review.
After getting through the fifth and sixth innings, Kershaw faced his biggest challenge of the game in the seventh. To start the inning, back-to-back singles to Drury and Renfroe put runners on second and third with no outs. Kershaw retired the next two batters on a grounder and a strikeout, but Luis Renfroe singled to load the bases. But Kershaw calmly induced a grounder to shortstop to end the inning.
The Dodgers offense then scored two runs in the top of the eighth to give Kershaw the win. The bullpen closed out the eighth and ninth innings to give the Dodgers a 2-0 victory, giving Kershaw his ninth win of the season and moving him into a tie for first place in the National League in wins.
Kershaw also maintained his nemesis relationship with Ohtani. After retiring Ohtani on a fly ball to left field in the first inning, Kershaw induced a swinging strikeout in the fourth and a fly ball to left field in the sixth. After being held in check by Kershaw, Ohtani finished the game 4-for-4, ending his 15-game hitting streak.
Since making his major league debut in 2018, Ohtani has struggled against Kershaw. Including tonight’s game, Ohtani is 0-for-11 with a walk and four strikeouts against Kershaw since their first meeting in 2020. The only time Ohtani had a hit off Kershaw was in the 2022 All-Star Game. Even though he’s been hitting well, with nine home runs in June, it’s been difficult to get to Kershaw.
However, Kershaw himself said that he doesn’t know about the matchup. According to Japanese outlet Full Count, Kershaw scratched his head after the game, saying, “I don’t know why (Ohtani) was so strong.” “It wasn’t a great outing, but somehow I got lucky,” Kershaw said, adding, “We needed a win,” he laughed.