Kershaw aims to climb over .500 vs. Marlins
There is something about the Miami Marlins that does not sit well with Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. He plans to remedy that Saturday in Los Angeles.
In 11 career starts, Kershaw is just 5-5 against the Marlins, and in the one game when he did not get a decision, the Dodgers lost. Miami is just one of two National League teams he does not have a winning record against, along with the Philadelphia Phillies (4-5).
In more recent evidence of Kershaw's roller-coaster ride against the Marlins, he last faced them in April 2018, when he gave up a career-high six walks while throwing 112 pitches in five innings. He made one more start after that before landing on the injured list for nearly the entire month of May due to biceps tendinitis.
Healthy now, and fresh off another All-Star Game appearance, Kershaw (8-2, 3.00 ERA) will enter Saturday's start having allowed just one earned run in each of his past two outings. In between those appearances, he also gave up one run in the All-Star Game, coming in just one inning as he took the loss.
Despite his break-even record against the Marlins, Kershaw does have a sparkling 2.76 ERA against them in 71 2/3 innings with 82 strikeouts.
Anything close to his outing at Philadelphia on Monday, when the left-hander gave up a run on four hits over six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts, and Kershaw figures to control a Marlins offense that ranks last in the NL with 343 runs scored and 76 home runs.
And anything close to what Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen delivered Friday in the ninth inning of a 2-1 victory over the Marlins, and Los Angeles will be able to lock down another close game. Jansen struck out the side for his 24th save after blowing a save chance Tuesday against the Phillies.
"Enough is enough," said Jansen, who has a 3.63 ERA this season and four blown-save attempts. "I'm just trying to have fun again and just trying to get that attitude again to put a stop to it when hitters are trying to hurt me out there. I'm sick and tired of it. Now is the time to just go get it and get what we want to get."
The Marlins will counter Saturday with Kershaw's NL All-Star teammate, Sandy Alcantara (4-9, 3.94 ERA). The right-hander is coming off three consecutive defeats and has a 6.11 ERA in that stretch.
The workload is piling up quickly for Alcantara, whose 107 1/3 innings are second most among all rookie pitchers. His 76 strikeouts are tied for eighth most among rookies.
Against the New York Mets in his most recent outing on Sunday, he gave up four runs on nine hits over six innings in Miami's 6-2 defeat. But two months earlier, he pitched a shutout against the Mets, yielding just two hits. He is the only rookie pitcher with a shutout this season.
Saturday will be the second consecutive game Alcantara has matched up against a former NL All-Star teammate, as he pitched against the Mets' Jacob deGrom last weekend. Shaky Marlins defense and some bad luck were Alcantara's undoing in that contest.
"I think I was throwing a pretty good game," Alcantara said, according to MLB.com. "A lot of soft contact. ... I never give up. I was attacking the hitter, they hit soft contact."
--Field Level Media
