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Our latest trek of the Clayton Kershaw daily brings us to April 7, 2010, when the left-hander started the Dodgers’ second game of the season, but not the first.
Speculation in camp that year was that Kershaw, then 22, would get the nod for the opening day start, so much so that the Dodgers PR staff sent out information about the youngest such pitchers to receive the first-game nod. But Joe Torre picked Vicente Padilla instead for the opener against the Pirates at PNC Park.
After the Dodgers were drubbed in the opener, Kershaw got the nod for Wednesday night’s Game 2 and ... was also not very good. After a walk and a single to the first two Pirates he faced, Kershaw served up a home run to Garrett Jones. After three batters, the Dodgers trailed 3-0.
Kershaw allowed 11 batters to reach base — including a career-worst six walks — but amazingly kept the Pirates off the board for the remainder of his outing, with Pittsburgh runners in scoring position stranded in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.
From my game recap:
Kershaw committed the cardinal sin of walking the opposing pitcher, Ross Ohlendorf, and he did it twice! Kershaw, who also walked Jason Hammel twice last July, became just the third Los Angeles Dodger pitcher to have two career games in which they walked the same opposing pitcher twice:
Kershaw: 2009 & tonight
This was Kershaw’s 52nd career start. At 4⅔ innings, this is the shortest healthy Kershaw start so far in this project. The Dodgers rallied to tie after Kershaw was pulled, but lost in the 10th inning.
The outing: 4⅔ IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 6 walks, 4 strikeouts
Up next: Back to two starts for a few days this week, beginning with April 8.