LOS ANGELES — Dalton Speeding was 7 years previous in 2008, and as he put it, “most likely nonetheless taking part in with toys and attempting to determine precisely the place my subsequent 8U baseball match was.”
In Might of that 12 months, a 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw took the mound at Dodger Stadium for his huge league debut.
Flash ahead to Saturday, when Speeding was behind the plate in simply his second huge league recreation to catch the primary begin of Kershaw’s 18th season with the Dodgers. It was a memorable night — however each had been left wanting extra.
“It is a particular factor to get to return and pitch at Dodger Stadium,” Kershaw mentioned. “Clearly, I wished to pitch higher. I have to pitch higher going ahead.”
Kershaw allowed 5 runs in 4 innings in an 11-9 Freeway Collection loss to the Angels, taking the mound for the primary time after finishing his rehab from offseason surgical procedures on his left toe and left knee.
The veteran southpaw joined Zack Wheat and Invoice Russell as the one gamers in franchise historical past to play 18 seasons for the Dodgers, an accomplishment that has taken on much more which means for Kershaw in recent times.
Following a delayed starting to the 12 months on account of left shoulder surgical procedure, Kershaw’s 2024 season lasted all of seven begins, coming to an early finish after he injured his left huge toe. He needed to watch from the sidelines because the Dodgers took house the eighth World Collection title in franchise historical past, which was a supply of motivation as he labored his method again.
Not that he wants any further {hardware} to go down as an all-time nice. The three-time Cy Younger Award winner and 2014 NL MVP — who’s 30 strikeouts shy of three,000 for his profession — has nothing left to show.
“I understand how particular he’s. I understand how good of a pitcher he’s. Nobody has to inform him that; nobody has to get affirmation for that,” mentioned Speeding, the Dodgers’ high prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 15 total. “It is simply powerful. I would like my pitchers, regardless of who it’s on the mound, to succeed greater than anyone on the sphere. It hits me a bit of tougher than anybody else.”
Quite than dissect Kershaw’s outing, Speeding put a lot of the onus for the night time on himself.
“I am a rookie. That is my job,” Speeding mentioned. “Basically, I am gonna take blame for each little factor that occurs on the sphere, whether or not it is good, unhealthy, ugly, every little thing. … It will be an extended night time some issues and determining what we will do to maneuver ahead and be higher.”
Kershaw allowed three runs to the Angels in a 38-pitch opening body, which was extended by one at-bat on account of a rundown gone awry. However the Dodgers wasted no time responding within the backside of the primary, with Andy Pages leaving the yard for the ninth time this season with a game-tying three-run blast off Halos starter Tyler Anderson.
That wiped the slate clear for Kershaw, who breezed via a 1-2-3 second earlier than permitting one other two runs. He surrendered a solo homer to Taylor Ward within the third, and Pages helped restrict the injury within the fourth by making a powerful seize on the right-field wall, turning a deep drive from Zach Neto right into a sacrifice fly.
There have been flashes of classic Kershaw in that clear second inning, however command points had been a typical thread within the others.
“That’s the previous Clayton,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “He’s a strike-thrower. He’s environment friendly and that typified his typical inning. … I believed he did a very good job of settling in, actually after that first inning the place the pitch rely received up there actually rapidly.”
Along with his work behind the dish, Speeding was a key contributor on the plate, smacking a game-tying ground-rule double that was smoked at 112 mph off the bat within the sixth. One inning later, after the Angels put up a five-spot to stun the Dodgers, Speeding helped his crew reply rapidly with an RBI single.
When all was mentioned and performed, Speeding was onerous on himself. However his venerable batterymate had a unique view.
“Rush did nice. Clearly, I did not give him quite a bit to work with tonight,” Kershaw mentioned. “He will be good. He cares quite a bit, ready quite a bit, did a variety of homework, and he is studying on the fly. I did not give him a variety of assist right now.”
