Each year, MLB teams play 162 regular season games. Due to this plethora of contests, most players never feel performance nerves until the end of the season when their team is trying to cement a playoff spot or is vying to win a pennant. However, one can be certain that the member of the Los Angeles Angels are quaking in their cleats awaiting tonight’s matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reason for said nerves? None other than Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw, a left-handed pitcher for the Dodgers, has been dominant this season, to say the least. Kershaw was awarded NL Pitcher of the Month in June due to his outstanding stat line – 6-0 record with a 0.82 ERA, 61 strikeouts and four walks in 44 innings. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Kershaw was also named NL Pitcher of the Month for July due to an equally stellar performance – 4-0 record with a 1.07 ERA, 43 strikeouts, and four walks in 42 innings. During the month of June, Kershaw held opponents to a .165 batting average, ranking second best in the Majors.
Here are some nice Tweets to put Kershaw’s performance into perspective:
.@ClaytonKersh22 has won 10 straight decisions, and owns a 0.94 ERA over the course of the streak – one that encompasses 11 starts.
— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) August 1, 2014
Clayton Kershaw has 5 CG. No major league team (except #Dodgers) has more than 5 CG.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) August 1, 2014
Clayton Kershaw since June 1: 10-0, 0.94 ERA, 8 BB, 104 K. #koufax #maybeheshouldstartanallstargame
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) August 1, 2014
Clayton Kershaw has a higher OBP than he has allowed. Let that sink in for a minute. #Dodgers #LAD
— Jonathan C. Mitchell (@FigureFilbert) July 27, 2014
For the 2014 season, Kershaw has a .237 on-base percentage, compared to his opponents who boast a paltry .220 OBP.
Perhaps most impressive of all is the fact that Kershaw missed the entire month of April this year due to a back injury. (Not even Tiger Woods has been able to overcome such luck.)
Tonight, Kershaw goes for his 14th win of the season. If he is able to defeat the Dodgers crosstown rivals, the Angels, he will be the first MLB pitcher to reach 14 wins this season. A win tonight would also make 11 straight wins for the lefty and would hopefully stack his impressive 2014 stat-line (1.71 ERA with 150 strikeouts and 15 walks in 121 1/3 innings) even more.
Perhaps the Angels only hope is to replace Kershaw’s baseballs with phoney, rubber ones. As Kershaw proved late last month, he is no William Tell.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
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