As expected, the Dodgers have activated legendary southpaw Clayton Kershaw for his start today. Justin Bruihl was optioned to Triple-A to open the roster spot, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter).
The veteran southpaw was at his best before a balky back sent him to the injured list for 33 days. He returns owning a 1.80 ERA/2.27 FIP over 30 innings with a stunning 32-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Kershaw’s return couldn’t come at a better time, given the current uncertainty over the health of Walker Buehler. The Dodgers are clinging to a one-game lead over the Padres in the division. It’s too early to think about the standings, but given the competition in the NL West recently, there doesn’t figure to be much margin for error. Regardless, the Dodgers’ +109 run differential is the best mark in the National League by a decent margin (the Mets are second at +68). Even without Kershaw, the Dodgers rotation has set the tone with a league-leading 2.71 ERA.
Bruihl, 24, has been a vital cog for manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen since making his debut last season. Over the two seasons, the California native has a 3.34 ERA/4.35 FIP over 35 career innings. This season, Bruihl has a 3.86 ERA/4.79 FIP in 17 appearances totaling 16 1/3 innings. Bruihl has held lefties to a punchless .250/.273/.250 line in 35 plate appearances this season, but he’s given it back to righties, who have hit .269/.394/.539 across 34 plate appearances.
YEAA stay undefeated, Clayton!
TC Zencka, i agree, Clayton Kershaw is “Legendary” indeed.
Except in the playoffs! (But glad he won one championship)
One of my favorite SPs; you dont have to be a Dodger fan.
It’s always interesting how people will say Kershaw sucks in the playoffs when he is still a really good pitcher. Just hasn’t been dominant in his 30 playoff starts. Not saying you are saying he sucks, just that its odd how being really good seems like you suck when you’re normally unhittable. If a pitcher put up Kershaw’s playoff stats in a season, he’d be considered a strong number 2.
It comes down to how we measure the greats as a culture. The postseason takes on deeper meaning. Kershaw has been a fine postseason pitcher, though he’s two points over his career ERA in October. He’s tossed some gems. Has just about a season worth of post season activity, and is 6th all-time in innings.
I agree! It’s why i gave you “thumbs up”
What makes it all the more peculiar; big playoff sample.
If this guy were to retire today; HOFer; imo;
Really want him to get 11 more wins to reach 200 career.
200 wins is enough to get him in the HoF with the Sandy Koufax/Pedro Martinez era of dominance. Unfortunately lots of great players were anything but in the postseason.
That’s such a weak argument. His bad games because of his stature would be considered games where he gave his team a chance if he was anyone else. As a Dodger fan I’ve seen all his playoff starts and outside a couple of games he’s had ok and some solid ones. I think it’s magnified because of who he is. I would still take Kershaw on my playoff team any day of the week. The era of course is magnified because it’s such a small dose
I understand the argument that Kershaw is an all-time great and his post season struggles shouldn’t define him, but how can you call him a first ballot HOF and discount a guy like Andy Pettitte who was a post season monster? If Kershaw is a hall of famer despite his struggles then Pettitte should be because he was such a gamer
It’s not much of a small sample size anymore though. 30 starts, 37 games total, 189 IP. 13-12 with a 4.19 ERA. Pretty average stats if you ask me. I think it’s enough of a sample size to say he shrinks in the moment.
It’s also not just the stats that tell the story….after his team would battle back to tie it or give him the lead he would instantly give the runs right back. That is deflating to a team.
You can’t really argue with his regular season stats, they are all-time type numbers. But it’s safe to say you don’t want taking the ball in a big playoff spot. And that’s also not to knock him. People wanted to write his story of greatness before he even accomplished anything in the postseason and it just frustrated the media that he wasn’t fitting the narrative. They wanted him to be Koufax in the postseason and that’s just not fair to anyone.
Shield….I’m just not seeing the postseason struggles outside of the knee jerk reactions we pretty much all had…that I’d kind of expect in 37 games started or whatever.
Pettitte was a beast. I love Andy Pettitte. I just don’t see the real reason to make a choice. Kershaw has been a fine October starter.
I mostly have stopped talking about the HOF. 1st ballot…2nd. We have guys in that are meh..and guys out that are head scratches. Baines but no Dave Parker?
Pettitte never had a run where people thought he was the best pitcher in Baseball, sometimes he wasn’t even the best pitcher on his own team. No Cy Young Awards and never lead the league in anything but wins once coupled with the PED’s use and thats why Pettitte gets discounted. Don’t feel bad, Curt Schilling was a postseason beast also and is discounted because of his conservative views rather than anything he did on the field
@dock I totally agree that the hall ain’t what it used to be. I guess my whole point was you can’t act like Kershaw isn’t an all time great because he wasn’t pristine in the post season.
But those stats do matter, and guys like Pettitte who found another gear in the post season deserve more respect.
Of course we could argue for days about post season opportunities. Poor mike trout hasn’t had any and that’s making him the Dan Marino of Major League Baseball at this point
I think it’s a mistake to regard Kershaw’s PS numbers as a large sample. It’s not. It’s a compilation of a bunch of small samples, that were spread out over a great deal of time. There’s no continuity to allow for any progression, or regression to the mean.
I’m a Giant’s fan, and I have no doubt that Kershaw should go in on the first ballot. Though I think that first ballot stuff is just silly anyway. You are or you aren’t, and once you are, there isn’t any designation that you were or weren’t, so what’s the point?
As for Pettitte, his known juicing is a big detriment to his getting in, even though he probably deserves it.
@Shield. Completely agree. It’s a special player that turned it on in pinstripes. NY has an intensity of it’s own. I do think post season success matters. It’s just more or an icing on the cake thing. A guy like Kershaw would have put up HOF numbers in any market. The only way that I honestly feel the postseason helps Pettitte is if he’s right on the edge. I don’t believe he probably was. Though…Mussina? It’s not MY Hall it’s everyones’.
Andy Pettitte was an excellent pitcher, and a class act. I’m not going to make all PED users into villains…not when we have child abusers roaming around. I thought how he handled it was also excellent.
Hall of Very Good..plaque next to Orel Hershiser.
Dock_Elvis:
Good post. I’m about as far from a Yankee fan as one can get, but if anyone can’t recognize and respect a stand up guy like Pettitte, then they lack objectivity. I wouldn’t quibble with a Pettitte induction, he’s certainly borderline, and worthy of consideration at the least.
As to the PEDs, I disagree with the holier-than-thou crowd. Especially when I see people say things like so-and-so never juiced. Like they would know. And it’s without a doubt that juicers have already been inducted. I can understand if the voters decide against him, but that decision should be based on the number alone.
@tad. You’re point on Kershaws small sample size is solid. I’ll still take the numbers given how much he’s thrown in the postseason. He’s 6th all time in innings.
As for the Hall and PED users being in. I’m not going to mention the name, because he’s never had much suspicion thrown at him. But we have atleast one to my knowledge that I physically heard spoken about in the mid 90s by high level team personnel. The PED % use from atleast the mid-90s-2005 might have neared 40%. They were looked at as “Performance ENABLERS” as much as enhancers. That’s where Pettitte got caught up atleast for an off-season. I thought he handled it well. But we’re dealing with the HOF by personality type as far as the steroid era. The usage was THAT pervasive.
I really liked Pettitte. A hall induction wouldn’t have surprised me based on a Yankees boost, titles, whatever. But I’m not sure how he’d fall pitching those seasons in KC, etc. Great Yankee, though!
And yeah….”so and so never juiced” hahaha… they easily could have. It wasn’t deviant criminal behavior or seen as that until much later. Mystified me because it was breaking federal law. But the game is insular. Cheating has always been part of the game to the point of acceptance. MLB is testing tacking thr balls now, even…because we don’t culturally accept “cheating” as much. Odd times. We’re allowing gambling…and I’d be surprised if we don’t have that one come up. Probably with an umpire.
If Buehler goes to the IL and Heaney comes back next week, the Dodgers rotation will be Kershaw, Urias, Heaney, Anderson, Gonsolin. How often do you see a rotation topped with 4 lefties?
Dodgers had one a few years ago when they had Ryu and Rich Hill.
The rotation will be Kershaw Gonsolin Anderson Urias Heaney
Here hoping he stays healthy. Some guys are too good and too classy to not root for no matter how you feel about their teams. Kershaw is at the top of that list.