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Clayton Kershaw strode through the hills and returned home for the 14th consecutive hitter in Game 5. He threw only 72 balls, but Edgardo Henriquez got hot in the bullpen when the Dodgers hit the ball in the second half of the inning.
Kershaw sat on the bench in the canoe until the sixth cowboy door opened and Henriquez jogged to the mound. The veteran Nanzhao's night has officially ended.
“I don't think it's going to be a long night for me,” Kershaw said. “Doc recognized that and certainly made the right call.”
Despite hitting six but not walking past the batsmen in five innings, Kershaw said after the outing that he knew from the start that he wasn't working with the best. Still, he was able to recalibrate and dominate.
Given how Kershaw thinks about his stuff, and the fact that he's taking regular breaks instead of five days between most of the year, is the fact that it's going into the pen's five days after five innings, which makes total sense for manager Dave Roberts.
This decision may not have been very good over the past few years. However, part of the evolution of Kershaw's later career has been aware of his limits without letting them stop him.
“I think my father's time attracted everyone, and I think he's smart enough to understand how many bullets he has,” Roberts said. “So, I think he has a good relationship with me.” We understand what he needs, when to push him, when it’s time to pull the plug and prepare for the next one. ”
The Dodgers’ mindful approach to Kershaw’s workload seems to be paying off. He sorted out an August stellar month, 5-0 with 1.88 ERA (six runs in 28 2/3 innings). It marks Kershaw's first five-game winning streak in a single season since the end of 2022.
During these five August games, Kershaw threw 395 goals. According to Optastats, he was the only MLB starter since 1988, winning five straight wins in the calendar month with less than 400 courts.
“It's a nice August,” Kershaw said. “Physically, everything feels good. I think everything changes from scratch sometimes. But overall, it's great. The team has a lot of wins, which is great. It's great to be a part of this time of year.”
The rotation has been strong throughout the month under Kershaw. Entering Friday, the Dodgers' starters combined a 3.28 ERA, the third best in the Cubs and Red Sox after the pros.
With three games left in August, the 137 innings of rotation has been the highest season in the department in the whole month. By this weekend, the Dodgers had 55 2/3 more starters than the rescuers. Previously, the biggest difference between spinning and bullpen was 22 2/3 innings in May.
With Shohei Ohtani extending to five innings (he temporarily topped off), the Dodgers' six-man rotation finally became more or less the group they envisioned for this season. After seeing several key arm injuries in the first half, starting to pitch has become a real strength in Los Angeles – just in time for stretching.
“It's been two years since we got this health from the starters, two years, and of course there's performance,” Roberts said recently. “So we kind of had to take risks early to get men back. So they're doing great. They're great. Obviously, we value those people. So it makes life easier for us all.”