Yesterday was the first Dodgers opening day I have ever attended, and it did not disappoint. The pageantry of the pregame ceremonies were great, but were surpassed by the game itself, thanks mostly to Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw was magnificent, starting the game with three strikeouts in the first inning, a frame only blemished by a Rafael Furcal throwing error.
Kershaw struck out eight batters in his first four innings, with the only hit a little dribbler by Brandon Belt in his first major league at-bat. I was sure from the stands that Belt was out on the play, but I never saw Kershaw drop the ball. Even then, the play probably should have been scored an error, and the way Kershaw was throwing my brother and I were convinced that play would rob us of a no-hitter. That didn't happen, of course, but Kershaw's performance was still awesome.
The ace threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out nine. In four career starts at Dodger Stadium against the Giants, Kershaw has a 1.33 ERA with 37 strikeouts and eight walks in 27 innings. His game score of 77 yesterday was the 12th-best opening day game score by a Dodger since 1919, and eighth best since the Dodgers, like Fievel, moved west:
| Highest Opening Day Game Score By a Dodger, 1919-2011 | |||||||||
| Pitcher | Date | Opp | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | GmScr |
| Hideo Nomo | 2003 | Ari | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 85 |
| Don Drysdale | 1960 | Chi | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 85 |
| Jesse Petty | 1926 | NYG | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 84 |
| Don Drysdale | 1965 | NYM | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 83 |
| Don Sutton | 1974 | SD | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 81 |
| Whit Wyatt | 1940 | Bos | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 81 |
| Dutch Ruether* | 1923 | Phi | 14 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 81 |
| Fernando Valenzuela | 1981 | Hou | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 80 |
| Sandy Koufax | 1964 | StL | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 80 |
| Dazzy Vance | 1925 | Phi | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 79 |
| Don Sutton | 1977 | SF | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 78 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2011 | SF | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 77 |
*no relation to Kenley Jansen