Clayton Kershaw By the Numbers
Clayton Kershaw has gotten off to a historic start this season and the numbers are eye-popping. 88 strikeouts and only 4 walks? There are simply no words to describe how good that is.
With his 11 strikeout performance last night, Kershaw became the fifth pitcher ever to record six consecutive games with double-digit strikeouts. The record is eight and is shared by Chris Sale and Pedro Martinez.
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Since the mound was moved back to 60′ 6″ in 1893, Kershaw has extended his consecutive games of at least 10 strikeouts and one or no walks to six.
What’s even more diabolical is the fact that his curveball, which has always been associated as his best pitch, is his third most used pitch. Kershaw is locating his fastball in 2016 like never before and that has allowed him to use his curveball as his primary out pitch. His slider is so good that he can now use it to get ahead of hitters and to put them away. Not many pitchers have that kind of arsenal at their disposal.
[graphiq id=”1qi4eSbkLDD” title=”Clayton Kershaw 2016 Pitch Selection” width=”600″ height=”400″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/1qi4eSbkLDD” link_text=”Clayton Kershaw 2016 Pitch Selection | PointAfter” link=”http://pitching-statistics.pointafter.com/l/43983/Clayton-Kershaw-2016-Dodgers#pitching%20style&s=3h1jJB”]
Kershaw’s strikeout to walk ratio is now at 22:1 for the season. For reference the MLB record is 11.63, set by Phil Hughes in 2014.
