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LA Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw made his first appearance this season on May 17 against the LA Angels. It came after he underwent surgeries to fix toe and knee injuries that caused him issues in 2024.
Making his second start in the series opener against the New York Mets on Friday, Kershaw's night was cut short because of a lengthy rain delay.
Expressing his disappointment, Kershaw spoke to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register after the game ended.
"Obviously, I’d like to keep pitching," Kershaaw said. "I tried to stay as loose as I could, but it just kept going longer. In hindsight, they probably should have waited to start the game for a while. Tough to have our bullpen end up covering 11 innings.”
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Allowing no hits and striking out one hitter in the two innings he pitched before the rain delay, Kershaw looked much better than his previous outing. He gave up five earned runs in six innings.
The Dodgers' bullpen pitchers managed to hold it down once the game resumed. They helped the visitors earn a nailbiting 7-5 victory in a marathon of a game that lasted 13 innings.
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts compares Clayton Kershaw to legendary Sandy Koufax
After Clayton Kershaw returned from injury to feature for the Dodgers, skipper Dave Roberts drew parallels betwen his quality to Sandy Koufax, one of the best big league aces of all time.
"I do believe that he (Clayton Kershaw) is the modern day Sandy Koufax, where there is no self-promotion," Roberts said on May 16, via 'The Herd.' "He doesn't want any media. But obviously, being a great pitcher, first ballot Hall of Famer, he's going to get it. But he just wants to be a part of this team, wants to help us win. He just loves competing.”
Koufax, who spent 12 seasons with the Brooklyn/ LA Dodgers in the 1950s, won four World Series titles and three Cy Young awards. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
With two World Series titles, three Cy Young awards and 2,971 strikeouts to his name, Kershaw is on track to make it to the Hall of Fame when he retires.
