Clayton Kershaw reminds Buck Showalter of Orel Hershiser after Dodgers ace dominates Mets for win No. 200
LOS ANGELES — The Mets were on the wrong end of Clayton Kershaw’s masterpiece in a 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
It was a vintage performance from a future Hall of Fame pitcher.
The win was No. 200 for the 35-year-old left-hander. Kershaw (3-1) may not have the velocity that he once had but his command, pitch selection and pace flummoxed the Mets on Tuesday, much the way he’s flummoxed the entire league since his rookie season in 2008.
“He threw a lot of strikes and he was missing barrels,” said outfielder Brandon Nimmo. “He got a lot of outs very quickly. He did a very good job and there’s a reason he’s going to be a Hall of Famer. There’s a reason he’s still in the game.”
It reminded Buck Showalter of another Dodgers great.
“I was thinking about Orel Hershiser,” Showalter said. “If you have command of three you can dominate, if you have command of two you can win and if you have command of one you can compete. I think we saw a good example of what Orel was talking about.”
Right-hander Tylor Megill carried an unbeaten streak in the month of April to the Dodger Stadium mound. A hometown product, Megill grew up in Los Alamitos about 25 miles southwest of Chavez Ravine but had never made a start there, not even in high school or college at showcase events or championship games.
But that streak came to an end as he was dealt his first career loss in the month of April, moving to 7-1 for his career for the month and 2-1 on the season.
All three runs Megill gave up came from a pair of homers by J.D. Martinez. Martinez hit a two-run shot in the first inning and a solo homer in the second, but that would be the extent of the offensive action for the Dodgers (9-9). Los Angeles went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position against Megill and stranded eight on base, including three in his last inning of work.
“It was a competitive outing,” Showalter said. “Normally, we’re a little more in the game but I loved the way he finished off that last inning.”
Megill, who had several friends and family members in the stands, finished with a final line of three earned runs on seven hits, four walks and four strikeouts over five innings.
“Overall it was spotty command out there,” Megill said. “It was a long first inning but I settled in during the second and third. More walks than I would have liked but I kept the damage down and grinded it out.”
Meanwhile, Kershaw blanked the Mets through seven innings, allowing only three hits and striking out nine. The Mets’ best chance came in the first inning when Jason Heyward was charged with a three-base error that allowed Nimmo, the leadoff man, to get all the way to third. Showalter thinks it should have been scored as a triple, but whatever it was, it went for naught when the Dodgers’ three-time Cy Young Award-winning ace struck out the next three hitters to retire the side.
“We got a chance early and that would have been nice to get a run there,” Nimmo said. “But he did a very good job of pitching there against three very good hitters. I think him getting out of that jam really propelled him for the rest of the game.”
The Mets finally had another chance in the seventh. Mark Canha was the third-to-last batter Kershaw faced and he battled the lefty for 13 pitches, fouling off seven straight with a full count.
He won the battle, sending a single into right field. Jeff McNeil then singled to center to advance Canha to third and bring up Tommy Pham.
Pham worked the count full, but Kershaw threw him a slider and the bottom fell out of it. Pham swung through it for strike three.
Cahna’s at-bat might not have resulted in a run in the end, but it likely ensured that Kershaw would be limited to seven innings. He threw 105 pitches and had to work to get Pham out two batters later.
“That’s Mark,” Showalter said. “He never gives in. That’s why we like him so much, he’s always engaged in the competition and he’s a great concentrator.”
The Dodgers plated two more in the bottom of the eighth, taking both runs off John Curtiss. Brusdar worked a scoreless seventh to close it out and end the Mets’ winning streak at five and secure the win for Kershaw.
A champagne celebration ensued in the home clubhouse, while the visitors tipped their caps in respect to one of the greatest pitchers in the game.
