Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (37) announced his revival. With the help of center fielder Kim Hye-seong (26) and a stellar defensive play, he delivered his best pitching of the season.

Kershaw started the game on the 9th (Korean time) against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, recording 5 innings pitched, 6 hits allowed, no walks, 7 strikeouts, and 1 earned run. After leaving the game with a 4-1 lead, Kershaw met the criteria for his first win of the season and lowered his earned run average from 5.17 to 4.35.

The 7 strikeouts were the most recorded by Kershaw in the last 23 games since June 9, 2023, when he notched 9 strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. Increasing his career strikeouts to 2,982, Kershaw surpassed Zack Greinke (2,979) to become 20th all-time in this institutional sector, with just 18 strikeouts remaining until the milestone of 3,000.

After undergoing surgery on his left big toe and knee following last season, Kershaw has been rehabilitating and has been part of the starting rotation since the 18th of last month. Before this appearance, he struggled in 4 games (15⅔ innings) with no wins and an earned run average of 5.17. In his previous outing on the 4th against the New York Mets, he collapsed, allowing 6 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 5 runs (3 earned) over 4⅔ innings, failing to secure his first win of the season.

The fifth appearance against St. Louis was different.

Kershaw started by catching Lars Nootbaar on the first pitch for a pop fly to first base, then got Mason Wynn out on a ground ball to third base before allowing a double to Brendan Donovan toward center field. However, he struck out Wilson Contreras on a low 90.9 mph (146.3 km/h) four-seam fastball around the borderline for a looking strikeout, ending the first inning.

In the second inning, Kershaw struck out Ivan Herrera with a slider after a full count, then easily handled Nolan Arenado for a pop fly to first base. He allowed an infield single to Alex Verdugo, but struck out Pedro Pacheco on 3 pitches. On the third pitch, he induced a swing and miss with a low curve while having two strikes.

In the third inning, Kershaw recorded his first three-up, three-down inning. He struck out José Barrero with a curveball and Nootbaar with a slider for consecutive swings and misses, but then faced Wynn, who hit a long fly ball to left center that was caught against the warning track by center fielder Kim Hye-seong. Kershaw raised his right arm to show gratitude to Kim Hye-seong.

Building on that momentum, he got Donovan out on a ground ball to second base and Contreras on a fly ball to left field, getting two outs in the fourth inning. He allowed a left-field double to Herrera but induced Arenado to hit a ground ball to third base to continue his scoreless streak.

The fifth inning was a turning point. Kershaw faced a crisis after allowing back-to-back singles to Verdugo and Pacheco, putting runners on first and second without outs. After getting Barrero out on a foul fly to first base, Kershaw managed to strike out Nootbaar with a slider. Nootbaar attempted to swing at a low outside pitch but was called for a swing and miss.

However, in a continued two outs situation with runners on first and second, Kershaw allowed a one-run double to Wynn that fell into right field, marking his first earned run. Despite the two outs and runners on second and third, Kershaw did not crumble. He struck out Donovan on 3 pitches, avoiding further damage. With two strikes, he induced a swing and miss on the third pitch with a high slider outside.

The fifth inning was Kershaw's last inning. Starting in the sixth, he handed the mound to relief pitcher Lou Trivino, finishing with a total of 82 pitches. Kershaw's fastballs reached a maximum speed of 91.5 mph (147.3 km/h) and an average speed of 89.6 mph (144.2 km/h) along with sliders (33 pitches), curves (15 pitches), and splitters (2 pitches). He recorded the most 4 strikeouts with sliders. His aggressive pitching was highlighted with 3 strikeouts on 3 pitches.

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