Kershaw lifts the Dodgers
In the commemoration of Jackie Robinson Day, the Dodgers finally managed to come out victorious and it was Clayton Kershaw's arm that restored calm to his team, guiding them to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2. “"So that [eight-pitch] second inning was big to get my pitch count down again. If you see your pitcher getting in a rhythm and getting some quick outs, it relaxes you and gets you confidence on the offensive side”, said Kershaw.
“The whole 'don't panic because it's too early" thing doesn't work if you're using that in the back of your mind for an excuse," Kershaw said. "'It's early, we'll figure it out,' doesn't really work, because you have to figure it out at some point. The MLB star acknowledged that he really doesn’t like that saying. “There really has to be a sense of urgency out there every game. It is early, a lot of time to make up things.
Standings, not so important, but the way we play is important and can't have any excuses about that”, Kershaw said after the Dodgers' first victory over Arizona this season. "You face a team four times within the first two months, you can't be predictable, and you have to mix things up," Kershaw said. "I was fortunate to get through seven, and we needed a win today."
In the same line, he was emphatic in the best strategy to pursue: "We are going to face the Diamonds like four times in the first two months, the same with the Giants and you must remain unpredictable and mix some things," said the Dodger, who worked seven innings and struck out 12 opponents.
For manager Dave Roberts, the performance of Kershaw on the mound seems to have become indispensable for the current National League monarchs. "When Clayton takes the mound, there's a heightened focus," Roberts said. "He brings a lot, and his intensity when he takes the mound, our guys fed off that today”.
Kershaw has been called to the All-Star Game in the past seven seasons and has won three Cy Young in his career. However, the Dodgers seem to operate with the possibility in mind of the possible exit of their ace at the end of the current season, after which he will become a free agent. Certainly, not good news. Although Sunday's victory raises the morale of the Dodgers, the squad does not go through its best moment after confirming the injury to the right shoulder of Logan Forsythe, who covered third base instead of Justin Turner, who is out of action for a fracture in the wrist suffered in the preseason.
A possible substitute could be the Puerto Rican Kike Hernandez. "The bat of Justin Turner will be needed, but we understand that we have good players, even those who are in the bench could play every day," Hernandez have told ESPN at the start of the regular season. Let’s see how it all works out then.