Kershaw Looks To Follow Up No-Hitter

How will Clayton Kershaw follow up last week’s dominant no-hitter?

All eyes will be on Clayton Kershaw Tuesday as he prepares to take the mound for the first time since throwing a dominant no-hitter last week.

Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers will meet the Kansas City Royals in the middle contest of a three-game interleague series.

First pitch at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.

Last Wednesday, Kershaw (7-2, 2.52 ERA) put together the performance of a lifetime against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, throwing a no-hitter that was almost a perfect game.

Through nine full innings, Kershaw allowed no runs, no hits and no walks as he struck out 15 batters. Only a Hanley Ramirez throwing error in the seventh inning prevented the 26-year-old from going home with a perfect game.

But in baseball, your last start means nothing when you retake that mound, and Kershaw will be looking to put in another strong performance against the Royals.

With the San Francisco Giants in their hairlines, the Dodgers (42-36, 24-16 road) are looking to make a move towards the top of the NL West standings ahead of the All-Star break.

Right now the Giants have a four-game lead in the division. That gap has shrunk considerably in recent weeks, as the Giants have struggled to win just three of their last 13 contests.

The Dodgers began the series with a 5-3 defeat on Monday night, succumbing to a solid pitching performance from Jeremy Guthie and some active Royals bats. Meanwhile, Zach Greinke – a former Royal – was handed a less than hospitable welcome.

The Southern California side will look to bounce back on Tuesday.

Kansas City (40-36, 19-19 home) snapped a four-game skid with Monday night’s victory.

Prior to that losing streak, the Royals had won 10 straight and, for a brief moment, had moved into top spot in the AL Central. Ned Yost’s side will look to gain some ground on the Detroit Tigers – two games ahead in the standings – with more solid play this series, before hosting the Los Angeles Angels this weekend.

Danny Duffy (4-6, 2.80 ERA) will be charged with taking the mound for the Royals.

The 25-year-old left-hander is 4-5 with a 2.91 ERA since being installed as a starter on May 3. Bar a couple of poor performances, Duffy has given the Royals some good innings. He’ll need to do the same if he’s to counter the red-hot Kershaw and the road-savvy Dodgers.

Los Angeles is 10-6 in its last five road series, winning four of those sets and finishing tied in the fifth. The last time the Dodgers lost a road series was in the desert against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 16-18.

Kansas City meanwhile is looking to rebound from a less than impressive home sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners this past weekend. Monday’s win was a good start, but an upset on Tuesday would be even better.

Will Alex Gordon and the Royals upset Kershaw’s evening?

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Kansas City Royals odds for 06/24/2014

With Kershaw – a winning in four straight – taking the mound, Los Angeles (-159) opened as the favorite over Kansas City (+149) on the moneyline.

The Royals have taken five of the last six head-to-head meetings, although the majority of those games took place in 2003 and 2005 and are all but inadmissible in this scenario.

The Royals are 8-2 in interleague play, while the Dodgers are 5-4.

The Royals are 11-9 against left-handed pitching, while the Dodgers are 12-8.

The over/under opened at 7 1/2, but has subsequently dropped to 7.

The total has gone under in four of Kansas City’s last six games, and 11 of the Dodgers’ last 14 on the road.

Monday’s game saw the total go over.

This rare series between the Dodgers and Royals – the sides are meeting for the first time since 2005 – will close out with a night game on Wednesday (8:10 p.m. ET).

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