Kershaw stars in Dodgers opening win over D-backs
Sunday, 23 March 2014
SYDNEY, Mar 22 (AFP): Los Angeles Dodgers superstar pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out the Arizona Diamondbacks to give his team a 3-1 win on the opening day of the Major League Baseball season in Sydney Saturday.
Kershaw, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner as top pitcher, made 102 pitches and allowed one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings to spearhead the Dodgers to a businesslike victory.
Kershaw struck out seven with a walk and received a standing ovation from the 38,266-strong Sydney crowd when he was pulled out of the game because of his pitch count.
Left fielder Scott Van Slyke homered in the fourth inning after Adrian Gonzalez was batted in by Andre Ethier in the second inning to put the Dodgers in charge.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Kershaw made the difference.
"Clayton was really good for us tonight, as always. Kinda doing his thing," he said.
"You have to stay with us for a while to understand the importance of Clayton because every five days you get a good outing.