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| Kershaw delivered his first no hitter of his career. Photo Credit: USATSI |
Clayton Kershaw’s career has so far been spectacular in almost every way manageable.From his sparking W-L record of 84-48 to his remarkable career E.R.A of 2.60. He also has had great success in his postseason starts as well but outside of winning a World series, there was only one other thing missing from his resume: a no hitter. Well, that box got checked off last night as he tossed his first no hitter of his career vs the Rockies last night at Chavez Ravine.
By: Michael Hanley
The Dodger’s established ace was masterful last night as he befuddled the Rockies hitters all night long. His arsenal of pitches were lethal as he was able to mix and match his combination of pitches and be able to get the Colorado hitters to chase some pitches and be out in front on some as well.
Kershaw’s slider and curveball especially were nasty on this night. The movement and varying velocity on these specific pitches were watching of beauty to watch if you were a Dodgers fan watching or just a fan of great pitching.
With all of his pitches working, that led to quite a few strikes outs by the Rockies hitters. Kershaw ended up striking out 15 batters, setting a new career high for himself. His previous career high was 13 strikeouts in April of 2009.
For most of the game, there was more than just a no hit watch on for Kershaw, there was also the prospect of a perfect game possibly happening in the same start. The way he was dealing on this night, that looked like a real possibility as he continued to get one out after another. It was still on track as he entered the seventh inning as Corey DIckerson for the Rockies came to bat.
It was at this moment that the perfect game, completed only 22 times since the year 1900, went by the boards on a Hanley Ramirez fielding error. Dickerson hit a slow chopper to Ramirez who threw a wide throw to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, which left Kershaw to just go for the win and no hitter which was still sitting out there, waiting to be completed.
That error though, did not faze Kershaw at all as he went right back to work and went on to complete that very honorable and special no hit bid. The crowd erupted in cheer as he was able to get that 27th and final out of the game.
This is the second no hitter completed by a Dodgers pitcher, the other one of course being done by Josh Beckett against the Phillies on Memorial Day weekend against the Phillies. It is hard enough for a franchise to get a single one hitter thrown in one season, let alone two of them before the All Star Break as Los Angeles has accomplished.
This achievement of having two no hitters thrown by the Dodgers has only been done once before, in 1956 when Carl Erskine and Sal Maglie threw no hitters.
Unfortunately for the Rockies, they have now been no hit three times in franchise history, now twice by Dodger pitchers in Kershaw from last last, Hideo Nomo in 1996 and Al Leiter in that very same year.
This was a night that Kershaw certainly will not forget, Dodger fans who were at the stadium or watching from home will forget. This achievement only emboldens Clayton Kershaw’s already stellar career and now only leaves one crowning achievement left: a World series ring. W
ith the way Kershaw pitches and command of the strike zone he can have on any given start, there is no question that we could be witnessing another no hitter completed by him in the future or even a perfect game.
