For once in his career. Clayton Kershaw struggled. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher is coming off his worst performance of the last two years. The dodgers gave up 18 runs to the Arizona Diamondbacks and now the pitcher is looking to bounce back and regain his dominant form against the Philadelphia Phillies.
In his first three stars of the season, Kershaw had a 1.74 ERA and looked his usual Cy Young self. However, after throwing a scoreless first inning against Arizona, he was rocked for seven runs in the second inning and found himself getting pulled very early in the game. His ERA ballooned to 4.43 as a result. Prior to that, Kershaw had gone at least five innings in 68 starts. He had not given up more than five runs since 2012.
The bad game was a rarity and the pitcher can easily get back on track against a Phillies team he has not allowed more than one run to in 16 innings. The team's top hitters struggle against the pitcher. Jimmy Rollins is 4 for 23 against him. Chase Utley is 3 for 14 dating back to 2009. The Dodgers are swinging the bats well which could help the pitcher out. However, late-game heroics saw the Dodgers failed to complete the sweep against the Mets as they sit 3-3 on the recent road trip.
The Phillies are in the middle of a losing streak. The team is in a 5-10 stretch while dropping their past two games after losing in a walk-off to the Miami Marlins. Roberto Hernandez gets the start after showing promise as a reliever. He has gone 2-1 with a 4.19 ERA in seven starts and is needed to fill injury holes. He has never faced the Dodgers and gave up one run over five innings against the Mets.
