Clayton Kershaw day by day: A contrast in run support

Clayton Kershaw in his career has started twice on May 28, one good outing and one bad.

The first such start came in 2014 against the Reds at Dodger Stadium, when Todd Frazier doubled and Brandon Phillips homered for an early 2-0 lead over Kershaw three batters into the game. He settled down soon after. From my game recap:

After the home run by Phillips, Clayton Kershaw retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced, including eight by strikeout, before Frazier doubled again to leadoff the sixth. He advanced to third, then scored on a wild pitch by Kershaw, building the Reds’ lead back to two runs.

Cincinnati prevailed 3-2, giving Kershaw the loss. He went two and a half months before his next loss, with the Dodgers going 13-0 in his starts in between.

Kershaw’s second May 28 start was in 2017 against the Cubs, also at Dodger Stadium. This was a pitching duel with Jon Lester that never really materialized.

Lester couldn’t finish the fourth inning, and Kershaw couldn’t finish the fifth. The battle of the bullpens began with LA up 6-4, with all the runs coming on home runs, three allowed by Kershaw. Lester allowed two home runs, but both were three-run shots, by Cody Bellinger and Kiké Hernandez.

In addition to the home runs, Kershaw also allowed eight singles and two walks, but the Cubs left 10 runners on base in the first five innings. The 11 hits allowed tied a career high for Kershaw, who also did so in 2013. The Dodgers won both games.

The outings

2014 (L, 3-2): 7 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts

2017: 4⅓ IP, 11 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

Up next: A pair of 10-strikeout games