Kershaw avoids Bartolo HR during complete-game shutout
Even the feared bat of Bartolo Colon couldn't stop Clayton Kershaw on Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander avoided giving up a home run to Colon and pitched a 5-0 complete-game shutout against the New York Mets, which included 13 strikeouts - and one against his pitching counterpart - en route to his fifth consecutive game sitting down at least 10 hitters.
PLAYER | INNING | RESULT | PITCH |
---|---|---|---|
Curtis Granderson | 1 | Swinging K | 74 MPH curve |
Yoenis Cespedes | 1 | Swinging K | 88 MPH slider |
Neil Walker | 2 | Swinging K | 89 MPH slider |
Kevin Plawecki | 2 | Swinging K | 88 MPH slider |
Bartolo Colon | 3 | Looking K | 93 MPH fastball |
David Wright | 4 | Swinging K | 89 MPH slider |
Kevin Plawecki | 5 | Looking K | 74 MPH curve |
Alejandro De Aza | 6 | Looking K | 74 MPH curve |
Asdrubal Cabrera | 6 | Looking K | 94 MPH fastball |
Eric Campbell | 8 | Swinging K | 89 MPH slider |
Lucas Duda | 9 | Swinging K | 73 MPH curve |
Curtis Granderson | 9 | Looking K | 74 MPH curve |
Kershaw, 28, also became the first Dodgers pitcher with double-digit strikeouts in five straight games since 1913 and also passed Don Drysdale for victories at Dodger Stadium with his 66th career win inside the venue.
His stellar performance also gave him his eighth career shutout with at least 10 strikeouts, which was twice as many as any other pitcher since he entered the majors in 2008, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Over the last calendar year, the three-time Cy Young winner owns a sparkling 1.65 ERA with 322 strikeouts and 35 walks across 250 innings during 34 starts.
Kershaw lowered his 2016 ERA to 1.74 after Thursday's gem and pushed himself into the major-league lead in strikeouts with 77.