Kershaw on Bumgarner's home run: 'Should've had a little more respect for him'

Clayton Kershaw won't make the same mistake twice.

The Los Angeles Dodgers starter said as much after giving up a homer to Madison Bumgarner - the first Kershaw's surrendered to a pitcher - in Thursday night's 4-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

"Fastball right down the middle," Kershaw told reporters following the game. "Should've had a little more respect for him, I guess."

That probably would've been a good idea, considering the reigning World Series MVP led all MLB pitchers in 2014 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. He was also tops among hurlers with 17 hits and 10 runs scored.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

After pitching 6 1/3 innings without giving up a run and striking out six, Bumgarner was adamant that his struggling counterpart Kershaw remains "the best pitcher in baseball," regardless of his tough start.

"Well, it's pretty obvious," Bumgarner said. "He's having a rough go this year (2-3, 4.32 ERA), but that's a small sample size. You can't take away what he's done."

As for the home run, Bumgarner acknowledged that it was a tad more meaningful coming off one of the game's most prolific pitchers.

"Yeah, I'd say so, especially in that situation," Bumgarner said. "You knew runs were probably going to be at a premium."