Clayton Kershaw escapes starting loss as Matt Kemp lifts Los Angeles Dodgers
Matt Kemp is having an amazing time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While most of the hitters in the club are struggling with their form, the rising star is bagging a lot of attention from the country.
His efforts led the team to the win against the Atlanta Braves and that uplifted the squad that has been trying to nudge off the negative points on image. One man benefitted a lot from the outing and it was none other than Clayton Kershaw.
The hurler was called in to make the most of his efforts on the mound count. Unfortunately for him, 8 2/3 innings did not go so well, as he had intended. The pitcher conceded two late runs to end a throwing stint that could have heralded him on the headlines
with one complete game.
Retiring 27 hitters is not an easy task and the Kershaw found that out well when he was pushed to allow two runs in the ninth.
Nevertheless, he learned a valuable lesson. He will need to build enough experience till the time he can go out and pitch a complete game with a win. Whatever the case may be he was full of praise for his manager, Don Mattingly, who allowed him to pitch
in the ninth even after bases were loaded and David Ross was on the strike zone with two outs.
"Matty's awesome", Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw said. "I told him what an incredible job he did and thanks for picking me up. In that situation, where both bullpens are getting eaten up, for Matty to pull it out like that with a 0-2 count, it was an awesome
at-bat".
Kershaw came off a 5–3 Dodgers victory in the 12th, with five hits conceded and three runs allowed. His biggest problem was the walks. He gave up four walks while striking out seven hitters in the fixture. He did earn praise from Jair Jurrjens,
who was pitching for the Braves.
"You know that when you face the ace on the other team, you need to limit the runs," Jurrjens said. "Kershaw is a good pitcher, a strikeout pitcher and a dominant pitcher. And he showed that today until the ninth".
The Dodgers’ ace is earning a good name for himself. His skipper will hope he can emulate his experience on April 21, 2011, in other games.
Tags: