DENVER — Coors Field has never been particularly kind to Clayton Kershaw. His 4.53 ERA in 28 career starts there is his highest at any ballpark where he has pitched more than twice.
Dodger Stadium will be a much more appropriate setting to validate his Hall of Fame career.
Kershaw moved within reach of 3,000 career strikeouts with one of his better mile-high outings on Thursday afternoon. He allowed just two hits over six innings as the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the struggling Colorado Rockies with a 3-1 victory.
Kershaw struck out five and now has 2,997 career strikeouts. He will need three in his next start to become the 20th pitcher in baseball history to reach 3,000 strikeouts.
The dominant stuff that piled up most of those strikeouts has mostly deserted Kershaw. But he can still be a force on the mound, now getting hitters out with guile, craftmanship honed over 18 major-league seasons and determination – and, on a good day, that slider.
Thursday was one of those good days. He struck out three in the first two innings but largely used the young Rockies’ eagerness to his advantage to get quick outs. He needed 12 or fewer pitches to retire the side in four of his six innings. Eleven of the 18 outs he recorded came on the infield.
Brenton Doyle jumped on a first-pitch slider that got too much of the plate for a solo home run in the second inning, the only damage the Rockies managed to inflict on Kershaw.
Pulled after just 69 pitches on a warm day, Kershaw could go for his milestone K either Tuesday or Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox.
The Dodgers matched Doyle’s home run with a single run in the third inning. Miguel Rojas doubled with one out, advanced to third on a wild pitch then scored when first baseman Michael Toglia made a sprawling stop of Mookie Betts’ hard ground ball to his right only to pop up and find no one covering first base. Betts beat him to the bag for an infield single.
The Dodgers took the lead in the sixth inning when Freddie Freeman briefly poked his head out from the most prolonged slump of his Dodgers career. Freeman’s RBI single cashed in a leadoff double by Betts. But that was Freeman’s only hit and he ended the day with just seven hits in his past 50 at-bats.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 28th home run of the season in the season in the seventh inning and the Dodgers’ bullpen closed out the win – the 216th of Kershaw’s career, tying him with Max Scherzer for second among active players (behind Justin Verlander’s 262).
More to come on this story.