He's Baaaaaaaaaack! Clayton Kershaw Returns Tonight Against Jose Fernandez And The Marlins
That return promo from the Dodgers is cocky as hell, but I respect the hell out of it. And if any team were ever going to use a WWE-style return hype video for a pitcher without getting shit for it, this would be the guy to do it with. He’s the best pitcher on the planet, and he was moonwalking his way to his fourth career Cy Young award as a 28-year-old before he hit the disabled list. Prior to his injury, Kershaw was 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA, and 145 strikeouts in 121 innings. Kershaw has been on the disabled list since June 30 with a herniated disc in his lower back. He’s been out of action for so long that his incredible 2016 numbers this season no longer qualify amongst the league leaders, unfortunately.
When he returns tonight to face Jose Fernandez and the Marlins in a pitching matchup that gets me a little giddy, he will be returning to a first-place Dodgers team, which is almost unfathomable to think about. I’ll explain why — when Kershaw went down, the Dodgers were 14-2 in games started by Kershaw, and 27-34 in the games in which Kershaw did not take the mound. It didn’t look good for LA when their ace hit the shelf, but they somehow have managed to go 38-24 in Kershaw’s absence, which is the second best record in the MLB over that span. Only the Cubs (41-24) have been better.
Stating the obvious, getting Kershaw back is huge for the Dodgers, but there’s no divisional race that he’s being brought back for. These next four weeks will simply be used for getting Kershaw back on track, and ready for the postseason. The San Francisco Giants are “only” five games back of the Dodgers in the NL West, but let’s face it — they’re not going to threaten LA for first place. The Giants have the worst record in baseball in the second half of the season (17-32), and they’re lucky to still have a Wild Card spot, never mind challenge one of the best teams in the National League for a division title. They’ll be lucky to even make the postseason at all, so the NL West is just about wrapped up for Kershaw and the Dodgers.