Kershaw hurls 7 strikeouts over 6 shutout innings in 1st start since July
Like clockwork.
Clayton Kershaw evidently did not miss a single beat in his lengthy absence from the mound. The Los Angeles Dodgers ace made his first start for the club since leaving his last appearance on July 23 after two innings with back tightness, and he didn't disappoint.
Kershaw tossed six scoreless innings and fanned seven San Diego Padres batters on just 70 pitches in his long-awaited big-league return. He also avoided walking a single batter in the outing while limiting the Padres to just two infield hits on the night.
Back like he never left. #Filthy pic.twitter.com/mhWQbGWwng
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2017
The impressive outing brought down Kershaw's ERA from an already-major-league-best 2.04 to a minuscule mark of 1.95. Washington Nationals hurler Max Scherzer is second in the big leagues with a 2.21 ERA.
Kershaw was expected to throw approximately five innings or 75 pitches in his return, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. He threw 64 in his last rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma on Saturday.
The lefty was replaced in the lineup by Andre Ethier, who made his 2017 debut for the Dodgers after sitting out the entire season with a herniated disc in his back.