"LeBron James of the MLB": Fans in shock as Clayton Kershaw robs Tommy Pham's 111 mph comebacker

Veteran Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is in the latter stages of an illustrious career, but the three-time Cy Young winner continues to be one of the most agile players in the game.

While Clayton Kershaw had a rough outing from the mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, the 11-time All-Star made an incredible play to grab headlines.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with a runner on base, Pirates' Tommy Pham muscles a line drive towards Kershaw. The veteran ace reacted within seconds to snag the ball and rob Pham of a base hit. The line drive was measured at 111 mph, per MLB.

Keshaw's jaw-dropping play caught the attention of fans on social media.

"LeBron James of the MLB; unc still got it," a fan wrote.

"Absolutely crazy games going on around the league tonight," wrote another fan.

"18 seasons and Kershaw still reacts faster than me trying to stop the microwave," joked a fan.

Seceral fans poked fun at Pham, who seemed visibly flustered by Kershaw's grab.

"Did Pham really just ask if he caught it? Always trying to start something," wrote a fan.

"What it Tommy Pham mad about now," joked a fan.

"Tommy Pham wants to fight and argue about that too?" Wrote a fan.

That was the only highlight of the game for Kershaw as the veteran ace conceded four earned runs, all in the first inning, and walked four batters with three strikeouts over five innings.

Clayton Kershaw claims every team wants to beat Dodgers after Pirates loss

Although the Pirates are set to finish last in the National League Central for the third straight season, the Dodgers struggled against the team from Pittsburgh in the series opener.

Tuesday's 9-7 loss was the 10th time in the last 14 games the Dodgers have lost to a team with a losing record. Clayton Kershaw claimed that everybody wants to beat the NL West team and they have to deal with that.

“I don’t think we look at it as winning record, losing record. We’re just trying to win games,” Kershaw said. “I’ll tell you right now, the Pirates are just trying to beat us probably worse than anybody else.

"That’s just part of being the Dodgers. We take everybody’s best shot and we’re trying to win every game. So every game that we lose is frustrating. Every game that we win feels good.”

Despite the loss, the Dodgers maintain their 2.5-game lead over the San Diego Padres as the NL West rivals lost for a second consecutive time against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash