Clayton Kershaw day by day: Zeroes against Arizona

Welcome back to the Clayton Kershaw daily, where we look back at every single game of the Dodgers left-hander’s career, on the anniversaries of when they happened.

Kershaw made one career start on May 13, coming in 2011 against the Diamondbacks at home, the opener of a weekend series at Dodger Stadium. He was fantastic in this one, keeping Arizona off the board, even though that seemed impossible in the first inning. The first two batters of the game doubled off Kershaw, though neither one scored.

I explained in my game recap (which also quoted a Bob Dylan lyric if you’re interested):

Arizona threatened with a pair of doubles in the first inning. On the second double, a pop fly down the right field line by Melvin Mora, both Aaron Miles and James Loney collided, allowing the ball to drop. However, Chris Young, who was on second base, had to hold until he was sure the ball would fall safely, so he didn’t score. Mora became just the seventh batter this season to hit a double with a runner on second base and not collect an RBI, and conversely Young became the seventh such runner not to score from second on a double. Kershaw retired the next three batters, with two strikeouts and a pop out, squashing the threat.

The D-backs also loaded the bases in the third inning with two walks and a single, but Kershaw stranded them too. He retired his final 14 batters faced, with eight strikeouts in that span.

For the game, Kershaw whiffed 11 in his seven scoreless innings, and the Dodgers held on to win 4-3. It was Kershaw’s third win in three May starts, and his third scoreless start against a National League West foe in four tries this far into 2011.

The outing (W, 5-3): 7 IP, 3 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts

Up next: Three starts, three wins on May 14