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Fox News
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Los Angeles Dodgers Beat Colorado Rockies as Clayton Kershaw Nears Strikeout Record
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies as Clayton Kershaw nears a strikeout record. #LADodgers #Dodgers #ColoradoRockies #MLB #ClaytonKershaw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit FOX News Radio
2 days ago
- Sport
Dodgers right-hander Clayton Kershaw strikes out 5, moves closer to 3,000 career strikeouts
DENVER -- Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw inched closer to 3,000 career strikeouts on Thursday, fanning five in six innings against the Colorado Rockies. Kershaw has 2,997 strikeouts in his 18-year career, three short of becoming the 20th major leaguer to reach the milestone. The 37-year-old would be the third active pitcher to reach the mark behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Verlander, in his 20th season, has 3,468 strikeouts. Scherzer has 3,412 in 18 seasons. Kershaw struck out three in the first two innings Thursday and got his fourth for the final out of the fifth. He struck out Tyler Freeman for the second out of the sixth inning and left the game after retiring the next batter. He threw 69 pitches, 41 for strikes. He recorded two strikeouts on his 73 mph curve and got three more on sliders against a Rockies' lineup that included all right-handed batters. Kershaw's next scheduled start is expected to come at Dodger Stadium on July 2 against the Chicago White Sox. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 10-time All-Star received plenty of crowd support in Colorado, getting a standing ovation from some in the Coors Field crowd when he left the mound after the sixth inning. Kershaw had made eight starts this season after being activated from the injured list May 17 following offseason left knee and foot surgeries. Kershaw left with a 3-1 lead and was in line for his fourth straight victory. His ERA dropped to a season-low 3.03.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Dodgers stock report: Pitching depth, left field and Andy Pages' All-Star case
DENVER — There is little that ever stays the same in this sport. Consistency in baseball is more of an aspirational goal. The fluctuations are what make watching the 162-game grind all the more fascinating and make those able to stave them off feel greater than mortal. Then there is Clayton Kershaw, still doing it in year No. 18 for the Los Angeles Dodgers as the 37-year-old chases history. Advertisement His hardest pitch Thursday afternoon registered at 90.3 mph. He has thrown 217 four-seam fastballs in 2025 and induced just one swing-and-miss. He still dispatched the lowly Colorado Rockies, needing just 69 pitches to get through six innings while allowing just one run on two hits, adding five strikeouts to leave him three shy of being the 20th pitcher ever to 3,000 career strikeouts. 'I think there is an aura to facing Clayton Kershaw that he's earned,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Kershaw's latest efficient mastery in a 3-1 Los Angeles win. This is what Kershaw does. Through eight starts in 2025, off of toe and knee surgeries, Kershaw has a 3.03 ERA. Not everything can be that steady. 'Not as consistent, not as perfect as I would want,' Kershaw said of his season to date. 'But the results have been OK.' Let's take stock of where things stand for the Dodgers with a little more than a month until the trade deadline. The Dodgers returned Emmet Sheehan to the minors last week to complete a process cut short out of necessity. It felt soon when Sheehan was brought back to the big leagues just 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery, and though Sheehan threw the ball well over four innings against the San Diego Padres, the organization felt it was best to keep him from Coors Field and from throwing on regular rest. So Sheehan went down. In his first start back with Triple-A Oklahoma City, Sheehan faced 18 batters. He retired all of them, 13 by strikeout. Six perfect innings is an easy way to stay on the Dodgers' radar. Sheehan has matched the hype that surrounded his return. Justin Wrobleski has simultaneously turned heads of his own. The left-hander got pounded a year ago and thumped again in his first taste of big-league action for eight runs in five innings against the Washington Nationals. He, along with Bobby Miller and Landon Knack, represented a group of internal options who simply hadn't performed as well as the Dodgers had hoped. Advertisement Wrobleski has now allowed just eight earned runs over his last five appearances, a 2.96 ERA. He cleaned up his delivery, spreading his legs wider before coming set and leaning more on his back leg to generate momentum toward home plate. As a result, his velocity has ticked up, touching 99.5 mph again at Coors Field and giving himself more margin for error. He's throwing his sinker more, reintegrating a pitch he had mothballed in his first big-league stint to protect his four-seamer. The cutter he picked up while staying ready during the Dodgers' postseason run in October is an effective weapon. 'I think I'm always going to be a guy that has a deeper mix,' Wrobleski said. 'Just kind of having the fastball options helps me a lot.' With that mix, he's gotten more aggressive in the strike zone. His stuff plays. The Dodgers' pitching depth still isn't what they thought it was. Miller has a 5.17 ERA in the minors and was recently placed on the injured list with a minor back injury. Knack got shelled for seven runs in his last appearance But the Dodgers should be encouraged by what they're seeing. Though it's impossible to rule anything out — especially an impact option — it would be a mild surprise to see the club trade for starting pitching depth. Especially with Tyler Glasnow already on a rehab assignment and Blake Snell working his way back from injury. 'The internal options,' Roberts said, 'I feel much better about.' Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman essentially said as such to the Los Angeles Times last week, issuing a vote of confidence in Michael Conforto in the process and saying such a deal was 'highly unlikely.' Conforto clearly hasn't fulfilled the expectations of a one-year bounce-back he was seeking when he signed for $17 million this offseason. He woke up Thursday morning hitting .176, the lowest batting average of any qualified hitter in the major leagues. His minus-0.5 FanGraphs WAR was seventh worst. Performing better, Roberts said, was 'critical.' Advertisement If the Dodgers were hoping that Coors Field would be a chance for Conforto to inflate his numbers, they should be pleased with what they got this week. Conforto strung together consecutive multihit games and pulled a pair of long home runs in the air, the type of contact the former All-Star has been seeking all season. He raised his season OPS from .565 to .609. If he doesn't find it over this next month, Friedman might have to change his tune. Roberts said Hyeseong Kim has earned more opportunities, though his lone action during this three-game set in Colorado came as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning Wednesday. Roberts again poured cold water on the idea of trying Dalton Rushing in left field, but that's the plan until it's not. Andy Pages couldn't understand why anyone wanted to talk to him Thursday afternoon, as the Dodgers completed their sweep of the Rockies and packed up for Kansas City. Teoscar Hernández, as always right by Pages' side, was astonished. 'You saved the game,' Hernández said in Spanish. Indeed, Pages had. He glided over in the ninth inning to catch Thairo Estrada's sinking line drive and saw Tyler Freeman much too far off the first-base bag. The Rockies do not do fundamentals well, as the last three games indicated. But Pages showed his continued strides defensively in center field by not just tracking down the ball but also not rushing the throw to first base. Instead, he fired a 92.6 mph strike that took one hop and got to Freddie Freeman to double off the Rockies and seal the game. Pages has so often seemed like an imperfect fit for center field. He'd played right field for much of his time in the minors, and his plus arm strength profiled well for a corner. He made gaffes with poor reads for much of his early time in the big leagues. Now, he's not just adequate in center, but quite good, worth 3 Outs Above Average in center field (and 2 OAA in right field), according to Statcast entering Thursday. He's been worth 2 defensive runs saved, according to Baseball Info Solutions. Advertisement 'Working on the mistakes I made last year and having confidence in the work I've been doing,' Pages said in Spanish. 'That's the reason for the confidence I have now.' Pair that with a jump in production in the bat, and Pages has made himself a compelling All-Star case. Shortly after his game-saving play Thursday, Pages was named a finalist to represent the National League next month in Atlanta. Among National League outfielders, Pages entered Thursday ranked fifth in FanGraphs WAR (3.0), sixth in wRC+ (135) and fourth in home runs (16). Though there is a crowd of Dodgers in the mix and every team needs at least a representative, Pages has made his case. 'He's just blossomed into, in my opinion, an All-Star,' reliever Anthony Banda said last week. 'He's one of a kind.' (Top photo of Emmet Sheehan from June 18: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw now three strikeouts away from 3,000
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw inched closer to 3,000 career strikeouts on Thursday, sitting down five batters in six innings against the Colorado Rockies. Kershaw sits at 2,997 strikeouts in his 18-year career, three short of becoming the 20th major-leaguer to reach the milestone. The 37-year-old would be the third active pitcher to reach the mark behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Verlander, in his 20th season, has 3,468 strikeouts. Scherzer has 3,412 in 18 seasons. Kershaw struck out three in the first two innings Thursday and got his fourth for the final out of the fifth. He struck out Tyler Freeman for the second out of the sixth inning and left the game after retiring the next batter. He threw 69 pitches, 41 for strikes. He recorded two strikeouts on his 73 mph curve and got three more on sliders against a Rockies' lineup that included all right-handed batters. Kershaw's next scheduled start is expected to come at Dodger Stadium on July 2 against the Chicago White Sox. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 10-time All-Star received plenty of crowd support in Colorado, getting a standing ovation from some in the Coors Field crowd when he left the mound after the sixth inning. Kershaw has made eight starts this season after being activated from the injured list May 17 following offseason left knee and foot surgeries. Kershaw left with a 3-1 lead and was in line for his fourth straight victory. His ERA dropped to a season-low 3.03. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! Get more from Clayton Kershaw Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dodgers right-hander Clayton Kershaw strikes out 5, moves closer to 3,000 career strikeouts
DENVER (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw inched closer to 3,000 career strikeouts on Thursday, fanning five in six innings against the Colorado Rockies. Kershaw has 2,997 strikeouts in his 18-year career, three short of becoming the 20th major leaguer to reach the milestone. The 37-year-old would be the third active pitcher to reach the mark behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Verlander, in his 20th season, has 3,468 strikeouts. Scherzer has 3,412 in 18 seasons. Kershaw struck out three in the first two innings Thursday and got his fourth for the final out of the fifth. He struck out Tyler Freeman for the second out of the sixth inning and left the game after retiring the next batter. He threw 69 pitches, 41 for strikes. He recorded two strikeouts on his 73 mph curve and got three more on sliders against a Rockies' lineup that included all right-handed batters. Kershaw's next scheduled start is expected to come at Dodger Stadium on July 2 against the Chicago White Sox. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 10-time All-Star received plenty of crowd support in Colorado, getting a standing ovation from some in the Coors Field crowd when he left the mound after the sixth inning. Kershaw left with a 3-1 lead and was in line for his fourth straight victory. His ERA dropped to a season-low 3.03. ___
