Clayton Kershaw is having a ridiculously dominant season, but he proved on Sunday that his skills aren’t limited to atop the pitching mound.
Kershaw improved his record to a sparkling 14-2 with a tidy eight-inning, one-run performance against the Milwaukee Brewers. That was thanks in large part to a fantastic defensive play from Kershaw himself that ended a potential rally in the fifth inning.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, the Brewers attempted a squeeze bunt — on consecutive pitches. After Juan Segura fouled off his first squeeze attempt, the Brewers decided to give the play another try. That proved to be a bad idea, as Segura popped up his second attempt to get the bunt down. Kershaw — apparently expecting another bunt attempt — came flying in from the mound and made a diving catch.
Kershaw alertly got to his feet and easily doubled off Rickie Weeks, who had been running on the pitch.
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All in a day’s work for the probable National League Cy Young winner. With the impressive performance, Kershaw was able to lower his ERA to 1.78. The Dodgers have now won all 13 of Kershaw’s starts since the beginning of June, a stretch in which Kershaw has posted a ridiculous 11-0 record with a 1.16 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 101 innings pitched.
