LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts put it finest: Everything simply makes extra sense for Los Angeles when Clayton Kershaw is on the mound each fifth day.

After being sidelined for greater than a month with a left shoulder harm, Kershaw was again atop the Dodger Stadium mound on Thursday night time, and seemed each bit just like the pitcher who was main the National League in nearly each stat earlier than his harm.

Kershaw allowed one run and struck out 4 over 5 stable innings in Dodgers' 2-1 win over the Rockies within the sequence opener.

“It was great to be back,” Kershaw mentioned. “You want to be a part of what’s going on here. You want to help your team win. It was a great feeling, good to be back out there, good to be at Dodger Stadium again. I don’t take for granted those opportunities.”

Kershaw threw 67 pitches (45 for strikes), however mentioned crucial half was that he received via 5 innings. He went simply 4 innings throughout his final simulated sport final week. For the Dodgers, that was sufficient for Kershaw -- who hadn’t pitched since June 27 -- in his return, because the necessary factor for the membership is to maintain the left-hander wholesome via October.

In truth, Roberts acknowledged that he was “holding my breath” all through Kershaw’s outing given the character of the harm the ace is getting back from. The Dodgers additionally need to see how Kershaw feels on Friday.

“I just think we need to make sure he takes the ball every fifth or sixth day,” Roberts mentioned. “I know Clayton wants to be a part of this really bad. He knows how special this group is and he wants to contribute. … I think for him, my thought is just be yourself, you don’t have to do it on your own. Today he sort of did for five innings. But we scored late. It was a good day all around.” 

Outside of a solo homer within the fifth to Elehuris Montero, the probably first-ballot Hall of Famer was sharp in his return. His finest body got here within the second inning, when Kershaw labored round a one-out double from Alan Trejo to strike out the opposite three batters he confronted.

Kershaw used his typical four-seamer, curveball and slider combine to maintain the Rockies’ hitters off-balance for a lot of the night time. Colorado had simply 4 hard-hit balls in opposition to him.

The 35-year-old southpaw additionally broke out his changeup, throwing the pitch 3 times, together with for a strikeout in opposition to Montero within the second. Before Thursday, Kershaw had thrown the changeup simply eight instances this season, and solely 19 instances because the starting of the 2022 season.

The final time Kershaw used the changeup to strike out an opposing hitter was on May 31, 2018, in opposition to Phillies infielder César Hernández.

“I threw it four times, and it’s like I threw it a million times,” Kershaw joked. “I threw four of them, three of them were actually OK. So I don’t know, maybe I’ll try to use it maybe four, five times a game, something like that.”

Offensively, the Dodgers didn’t get a lot going in opposition to Rockies left-hander Ty Blach via six innings. In the seventh, nevertheless, Max Muncy was capable of come via with a game-tying solo homer off Blach. It was solely the tenth homer allowed to a left-handed hitter in Blach’s six-year MLB profession.

In the eighth, the Dodgers put extra stress on the Rockies’ bullpen and had been capable of break via and take the lead when Muncy drew a bases-loaded stroll in opposition to right-hander Daniel Bard.

For the Dodgers, the significance of getting Kershaw again wholesome and within the rotation can’t be overstated. Having the left-hander begin each fifth sport offers the Dodgers a stage of stability they lacked since he went on the injured checklist. It’s no coincidence the beginning rotation posted a 6.18 ERA in July with Kershaw sidelined.

Over the following two months, the Dodgers will proceed to watch Kershaw’s well being and lean on him when they should. Even in any case these years, Kershaw remains to be the pitcher that units the tone. He’ll be tasked with main them down the stretch, particularly come postseason time.

“Any time 22 is on the mound, you have a good feeling about how the game is gonna turn out, and I think it’s a boost for everyone in this clubhouse,” Muncy mentioned. “It’s just fun to be on the same field as that guy.”

Content Source: www.mlb.com