Clayton Kershaw continued gearing up for his opening day start for the Los Angeles Dodgers with another effective Cactus League outing on Monday afternoon against the Cleveland Indians. Kershaw allowed just one run in his 5 1/3 innings, with two walks and five strikeouts in the Dodgers' 4-3 loss to the Indians.
"The first two or three innings, I was pretty erratic. I got in a little better rhythm toward the end there. I was missing with too many fastballs and getting behind too many hitters," said Kershaw, who turned 24 years old on Monday. "I battled okay today, and felt good the last couple of innings."
Kershaw allowed a run in the first, then nothing else the rest of the way, throwing 78 pitches in his third Cactus League outing. Kershaw is scheduled to pitch opening day for the Dodgers on April 5 at Petco Park in San Diego as well as the home opener at Dodger Stadium on April 10 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
So far this spring, Kershaw has allowed one run in 12 1/3 innings, with five walks and 11 strikeouts.
"He's the type of competitor in which he's his own worst critic. I try to limit what I tell him to do out there," catcher Matt Treanor said of the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. "The biggest part is his mental approach to the game. He wasn't going to let that first inning get to him."
The Dodgers return home to Camelback Ranch on Tuesday to host the Milwaukee Brewers. Chad Billingsley starts for the Dodgers, facing Chris Narveson of Milwaukee.
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