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Clayton Kershaw Was Key For Dodgers To Appeal Play Against Brewers

Matthew Moreno
3 Min Read
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 02: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers practices prior tothe regular season game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum on August 2, 2024 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)

Clayton Kershaw turned in his best start of the season on Monday night, and he was part of the Los Angeles Dodgers containing the Milwaukee Brewers again — even if momentarily — in the third game of their series at American Family Field.

With the Dodgers trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth, the Brewers appeared to have two runners in scoring position after a ball landed on the chalk down the left-field line. Manager Dave Roberts went out to speak with Anthony Banda in what was a curios mound visit considering a pitching change could not be made.

In reality, Roberts’ visit was to instruct Banda to throw to second base in order to appeal. That paid off as Joey Ortiz was ruled out for not properly stepping on second base before continuing to third.

Roberts was made aware of the baserunning mistake by Kershaw watching from the dugout, according to David Vassegh of AM 570 L.A. Sports:

Replay of the sequence showed Ortiz slide into second base and begin to retreat toward first. Once he realized it was a deke, he began running toward third base without re-touching second.

Kershaw’s awareness not only resulted in an out but helped the Dodgers escape the inning without giving up a run. They went on to tie it in the seventh inning on Miguel Rojas’ pinch-hit RBI single, but the Brewers scored what held as the game-winning run in the bottom half on a Mookie Betts’ error.

With that, the Dodgers’ five-game winning streak was snapped.

Clayton Kershaw’s focus

Although Kershaw is making headway toward 3,000 career strikeouts, he said after facing the Brewers that’s not a focus of his. Instead, Kershaw wants to get pitches in the zone to avoid walks and retire batters rather than chase strikeouts.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com