Clayton Kershaw day by day: Introduction to Angels

Clayton Kershaw in his career has just one career start on May 22. It came in 2009, his first career start against the Angels.

The start of a weekend series at Dodger Stadium pitted Kershaw, then 21, against Jered Weaver for the Angels. Kershaw is one of only four players from this game who appeared in the majors in 2019, joining Russell Martin, Howie Kendrick, and Kendrys Morales.

Kershaw was wild in this one, walking three and balking once in the first inning, but kept the Angels off the board. Chone Figgins led off the third with a double but was stranded. Kershaw played with fire again in the fourth, issuing a leadoff double to Torii Hunter. This time it burned Kershaw, with Gary Matthews Jr. singling him home.

But that was all Kershaw allowed in his night. Like Weaver, Kershaw was done early, as noted in a terse mention from my game recap:

Both starting pitchers struggled early. Even though they each only gave up one run, Clayton Kershaw and Jered Weaver were finished after five innings, with 97 and 101 pitches, respectively.

This one became a battle of the bullpens, and the Angels prevailed, thanks to three singles and a walk against Cory Wade, plating two runs in the eighth inning for a 3-1 win.

The outing: 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts

Up next: A dominant, four-start day