 |
| Clayton Kershaw set to return to Dodgers. Photo credit MLB |
The Dodgers have been treading water without their superstar ace in Clayton Kershaw since he went down with a back injury after he made his start vs the Diamondbacks in Australia on March 22. Los Angeles has gone 15-12 since Kershaw last toed the rubber for them, enough to stay right in the thick of the underwhelming NL West division so far this season.
by Michael Hanley
The wait is almost over for the Dodgers as news came today that Kershaw is scheduled to return to the rotation on Monday vs the Nationals. He is an obvious big addition to this LA rotation which has had its good moments so far this season but has had enough average to bad starts outside Zach Greinke’s starts that has made Dodger fans yearn for the return of Kershaw. With him at the top of the rotation, Kershaw provides that elite level type of starter to pair with Zach Greinke to form one of the best 1-2 pitching duos in all of baseball.
He possesses an arsenal of pitches he can rely on and go to in any situation that comes up during a start of his. Yes he can pump fastballs and put some heat on that pitch, but even more impressive is how in control he is with his offspeed pitches.Kershaw has such a great ability to locate where he wants to go with the ball in the strike zone and get that 12 to 6 hook on his curveball or get batters out in front of his slider. Very few other pictures of his caliber can maximize the array of pitches like Clayton Kershaw can do.
Its as if the Dodgers are blessed with two number one starters who can dominate lineups, go deep into games, keep their pitch counts low and are not afraid to pitch to contact .These two are just part of the reason why the Dodgers are so highly thought of as World Series contenders this season.
Now there is a potential that he will have to knock some rust off on Monday in his start vs. Washington. It would be understandable given he has only made the two rehab starts in recent weeks and outside that has only worked on regaining his range, movement on the mound. There is no doubt though that once he gets into rhythm and has his timing down on his pitches that he will get on a roll and provide this Dodgers squad some much needed wins that could give this team a much needed lift out of its malize through the first part of this season.
