Clayton Kershaw adds to his Dodgers legend with another pitching gem
Saturday night began with a pregame ceremony for Manny Mota, the former pinch-hitter extraordinaire, coach, broadcaster and community activist who became the sixth player to be inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball.
The rest of the evening belonged to the legend currently inhabiting the Dodgers dugout, Clayton Kershaw burnishing his Hall-of-Fame resume with seven innings of pure dominance in a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals before a crowd of 48,763 in Chavez Ravine.
Kershaw retired the first 13 batters to kick off a seven-inning, two-hit, nine-strikeout, no-walk effort that improved the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner to 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA in six starts this season.
Dodgers bullpen protects Clayton Kershaw’s gem in win over Cardinals
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — FINAL
Top of the ninth: Facing Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol, Paul Goldschmidt flied out to left before Nolan Arenado grounded out to first. Willson Contreras lined past a diving Freddie Freeman for a single. Dylan Carlson lined out to short to end the game.
Clayton Kershaw was the story of the game. He retired the first 13 batters to kick off a seven-inning, two-hit, nine-strikeout, no-walk effort that improved the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner to 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA in six starts this season.
Of Kershaw’s 88 pitches, 68 were strikes, the second-highest strike percentage (77.1%) of his career. He threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of 23 batters and did not allow a runner past first base.
The Dodgers and Cardinals wrap up their three game series Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PDT.
Dodgers hold on to 1-0 lead heading into the ninth inning
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the eighth
Top of the eighth: Evan Phillips took over for Clayton Kershaw, and struck out Tyler O’Neill and Paul DeJong to give the Dodgers 11 punchouts tonight. Phillips then walked Andrew Knizner. Chris Taylor failed to quickly grab a grounder off the bat of Lars Nootbar, who beat the throw to first. Brendan Donovan then hit a hard liner to a perfectly positioned Taylor to end the frame.
Bottom of the eighth: Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks walked Freddie Freeman. Will Smith then took a called third strike on the outside corner before Taylor struck out for the fourth time tonight. With Genesis Cabrera taking over on the mound, Freeman picked up his second stolen base of the game before Max Muncy drew a walk. Dylan Carlson then made a sliding grab in center field to keep it a one-run game.
Dodgers hold on to narrow lead after seven innings
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the seventh
Top of the seventh: Paul Goldschmidt capped an eight-pitch at-bat with a single down the right-field line. Evan Phillips started warming up in the bullpen after the hit. Nolan Arenado popped out to Miguel Vargas at second before Clayton Kershaw struck out Willson Contreras for the second time. Dylan Carlson popped out to Vargas to leave Goldschmidt stranded.
Kershaw has allowed two hits, zero walks and has struck out nine over 88 pitches and seven innings. Phillips will take over on the mound in the eighth.
Bottom of the seventh: Vargas leads with a double — his fifth of the season — into the left-field corner off Jordan Montgomery. James Outman struck out and Trayce Thompson grounded out. Montgomery then walked Austin Barnes, prompting the Cardinals to task reliever Jordan Hicks with getting the inning’s final out. Mookie Betts was called for a pitch clock violation at the start of his at-bat and took a called third strike, dissolving a potential scoring chance.
Dodgers hold on to 1-0 lead heading into the seventh
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the sixth
Top of the sixth: Clayton Kershaw has tallied eight strikeouts and has allowed just one hit. He struck out Andrew Knizner and Lars Nootbar to start the sixth. He then got Tommy Edman to ground out to short.
Bottom of the sixth: Will Smith flied out to left before Chris Taylor struck out for the third time today. Max Muncy grounded out to second to send the game to the seventh.
Cardinals break up Clayton Kershaw’s perfect start in fifth
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the fifth
Top of the fifth: Dylan Carlson broke up Clayton Kershaw’s perfect start, hitting a one-out single to right-center field.
Kershaw opened the inning by striking out Willson Contreras before striking out Tyler O’Neill after Carlson’s hit. Paul DeJong hit into a force out at second for the third out.
Kershaw has allowed one hit and has struck out six on 61 pitches.
Bottom of the fifth: Austin Barnes flied out to right before Cardinals center fielder Dylan Carlson made a spectacular, over-the-shoulder leaping grab at full sprint on a deep flare hit by Mookie Betts. Carlson managed to keep his composure and get the ball even as he approached the wall at high speed. Freddie Freeman grounded out to first to cap the frame.
Clayton Kershaw retires the side to stay perfect through four
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — Fourth inning
Top of the fourth: Tommy Edman grounded out before Paul Goldschmidt popped out to third. Clayton Kershaw then struck out Nolan Arenado on three pitches to stay perfect through four innings. Kershaw has retired 12 batters retired on 43 pitches — 36 for strikes.
Bottom of the fourth: Max Muncy and Miguel Vargas each grounded out. James Outman picked up second hit on a single up the middle. Trayce Thompson then took a called third strike to end the inning.
Cardinals pitcher Jordan Montgomery has allowed four hits and has five strikeouts on 62 pitches.
Clayton Kershaw perfect through three innings vs. Cardinals
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the third
Top of the third: Clayton Kershaw is looking very sharp. He struck out Paul DeJong and Andrew Knizner to open the frame before James Outman made a diving catch on a Lars Nootbaar popper to shallow center. Kershaw perfect through 30 pitches.
Bottom of the third: Freddie Freeman flied out to left, Will Smith grounded out to short and Chris Taylor struck out.
Austin Barnes drives in James Outman to give Dodgers early lead
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the second
Bottom of the second: James Outman hit a one out-single through the infield to left, stole second and then took third when the pickoff attempt bounced past Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edmond. Austin Barnes drove in Outman on single up the middle to get the Dodgers on the board. Mookie Betts flied out to end the frame.
Top of the second: Willson Contreras popped out to Max Muncy at third before Dylan Carlson flied out to right. Clayton Kershaw then struck out Tyler O’Neill on four pitches. Six up, six down on 20 pitches for Kershaw.
Dodgers and Cardinals scoreless heading into the second
⚾ Cardinals 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the first
Top of the first: Tommy Edman grounded out to Chris Tatlor at short, Paul Goldschmidt flied out to right and Nolan Arenado flied out to Freddie Freeman in foul territory. Clayton Kershaw retired the side on nine pitches.
Bottom of the first: Mookie Betts singled up the middle off Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery before he was forced out at second on a Freddie Freeman grounder to short. Freeman stole second on the next pitch before Will Smith drew a walk.
Montgomery struck out Chris Taylor on three pitches before striking out Max Muncy to leave two stranded for the Dodgers.
Manny Mota and the Dodgers have been nearly inseparable for 75 years
Manny Mota watched his first Dodgers game from a mango tree.
It was March 1948. The Brooklyn Dodgers were holding spring training in the Dominican Republic after reaching an agreement with dictator Rafael Trujillo for a reported $60,000. Trujillo had a stadium constructed for the occasion in the capital city, which the dictator named Ciudad Trujllo after himself. The name reverted to Santo Domingo after Trujillo was assassinated in 1961.
Mota was a 10-year-old boy infatuated with baseball. He played games wherever he found them around the city. The Dodgers, coincidentally, were his favorite team. Jackie Robinson, coming off his barrier-breaking rookie season, was his favorite player. But he couldn’t afford a ticket to attend a game in his hometown. He couldn’t even afford the five cents charged to watch from atop a truck beyond the right-field wall. His single mother of eight children had other concerns. The boy devised a plan.
Miguel Rojas to assume reduced role when he returns from injury
Miguel Rojas will begin a brief minor league rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday night, but when he returns to the Dodgers on Monday from a hamstring strain that has sidelined him since April 19, it will not be as an everyday shortstop.
Manager Dave Roberts said Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor will continue to play shortstop and that Rojas, who also missed time in early April because of a groin injury, will start there “a couple of times a week” in an effort to keep him healthy.
“With Miguel, I don’t feel comfortable running him out there every day anyway,” Roberts said before Saturday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Chavez Ravine. “Whether it’s C.T. or Mookie taking that down, I feel good. I think once [Rojas] gets back, I’m going to look at matchups and what gives us the best chance to win that day.”
Rojas is scheduled to play five innings in the field against Inland Empire on Saturday night and might remain with Rancho to get at-bats as a designated hitter on Sunday.
Rojas was acquired from Miami in January to be the team’s utility infielder, but when Gavin Lux suffered a season-ending knee injury in February, Rojas opened the season as the starting shortstop.
Rojas has looked fine in the field and will be used as a late-inning defensive replacement on nights he doesn’t start, but he has struggled to both stay on the field and to produce at the plate. He hit .125 (four for 32) with one double and no RBIs in his first 11 games.
“There have been a lot of soft-tissue injuries,” Roberts said. “We have to find a way to keep him healthy.”
Dodgers’ starting lineup vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Here’s the starting lineup for the Dodgers against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight. Will Smith is back in the designated hitter spot and Chris Taylor is batting in the No. 4 spot.
Friday recap: Miguel Vargas and Mookie Betts power Dodgers to victory
The Dodgers found a kindred spirit in the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night, a fellow defending division champion that has underachieved and underwhelmed as much as they have for the first month of the season.
The struggling visitors served as something of a healing balm for the Dodgers, who overcame a rocky start from Dustin May with an early homer from Mookie Betts and a late two-run shot from Miguel Vargas for a 7-3 victory before a crowd of 48,138 in Chavez Ravine.
May walked two and gave up two runs in a 26-pitch first and needed a career-high 104 pitches to complete five innings, but the Cardinals (10-17) couldn’t put another dent in May or the bullpen until the ninth, when they scored once off left-hander Alex Vesia.
Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.
