Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (35) finished April with an overwhelming record.

Kershaw started the game against the St. Louis Cardinals held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 30th (Korean time) and won a no-run victory with 2 hits and 9 strikeouts in 7 innings. It’s already the 5th win of the season. 

Kershaw, who did not appear in many games due to injury last season and recorded 12 wins and 3 losses with a 2.28 ERA in 22 games (126⅓ innings), re-signed with the Dodgers for one year and $20 million after the season. 

Kershaw, who won the National League Cy Young Award three times (in 2011, 2013 and 2014), has been plagued by injuries and sluggishness in recent years and has not shown the form of his prime. But his season is different. He finished the month of April in a dominant manner, going 5-1 with a 1.89 earned run average in 6 games (38 innings). 

Kershaw showed off a powerful pitch in the game that day as well. He did not let a single runner out on first base until the fifth inning with one out. He threw 88 pitches and had a slider (44 pitches), four-seam (33 pitches), and curveball (11 pitches). His best four-seam speed was 92.3 miles (148.5 km), but his swing and curve ball miss rates were 38% and 63%, respectively.

The Los Angeles Times, an American media, highlighted Kershaw’s overwhelming pitching, saying, “Kershaw purely dominated 7 innings against St. Louis in front of 48,763 people, leading to a 1-0 victory and adding a line to his Hall of Fame resume.” . 

Manager Dave Roberts said, “From what I saw, Kershaw had the best pitching today of all season. He showed off a strong pitch from the start of the game to the end. I think I liked his fastball that stabs inward and outward and the curve that falls behind. The slider’s tunneling was really special. He met a strong team against a left-handed pitcher, but the way he overwhelms hitters is impressive,” he admired Kershaw’s pitching. 스포츠토토

Kershaw, who blocked the first four innings with perfect pitching, said, “I didn’t really think of a perfect game during the four innings. But it’s nice to have such a good start and get into a good rhythm. Jordan Montgomery also threw well, and the tempo of the game was fast. That helped keep the rhythm.”