Clayton Kershaw Finally Gets the Results He is Looking For

Clayton Kershaw does not have to come out and say it, but his rotten record in the playoffs is enough to stain his baseball psyche.

Kershaw is 0-4 with an ERA of 7.15 in four starts in the playoffs since 2013 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Regardless of what is said or not said, those thoughts linger with the southpaw sensation each time he takes the mound against the Cards, which is why his Saturday outing of eight scoreless innings versus those same Cardinals was very nice, but not yet redeeming since its only June and not late September.

However, his outing snapped a losing streak of three games for Los Angeles. He defeated the Cards 2-0 allowing just one hit while striking out 11 in his best start of this season.

Kershaw was asked after the game if the win meant more to him since it was against St. Louis and he simply answered, “No.”

A.J. Ellis is catcher said Kershaw’s history with St. Louis is too overblown. Ellis said Kershaw’s focus was on helping the team and winning a game.

Kershaw’s last few starts have started to trend toward his numbers of last season. Kershaw’s three losses this season and his ERA of 4.32 prior to his shutout are reminders his start was not as strong this season.

However, over his past three starts, the southpaw has been nothing but dominant. On May 26, Kershaw pitched seven innings of shutout baseball versus Atlanta while fanning 10 and issuing zero walks. He followed that with seven innings at Coors Field allowing just two runs while fanning seven Colorado Rockies.

Against the Cardinals on Saturday, he threw 106 pitches in eight innings and it was his single best outing of the season. He threw his slider and his curve equally well and his fastball had pinpoint accuracy on both sides of the plate.

Kershaw was upset he hit a batter and walked two others, but he said he was finally getting the result he wants.

This could not come at a better time for the Dodgers who are battling with San Francisco for first place in the National League West.

As of Monday, the Dodgers were just a half game in front of the Giants, but are just 4-6 over their past 10 games played. On Sunday, their bullpen could not hold another lead, which led to a loss to the Cardinals.

Kershaw is now 5-3 on the season with an ERA of 3.36 but has 101 strikeouts and all signs point to him returning to top form heading into the long hot days and night of summer.