Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Snaps Back At Question About Removing Clayton Kershaw from 2 Hitter
Clayton Kershaw had himself quite the performance on the mound Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite the Dodgers only being able to muster up one run thanks to a single from Austin Barnes that brought James Outman home, that was all they needed to take a 1-0 victory.
However, due to the game being so tight, many fans were hoping to Kershaw stay at the mound longer than usual. He only threw 88 pitches through seven innings and had only allowed two hits with zero runs and nine punch outs.
As we’ve said multiple times before, Kershaw continues to be LA’s most reliable pitcher even at age 35. Prior to this win, the Dodgers were sitting at 14-13 and any more close losses would have been heartbreaking.
Even though Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol both came in and took care of business in the final two innings with only one hit and no runs allowed, many were wondering why manager Dave Roberts did not allow Kershaw to continue a stellar showcase with juice still left in him.
Roberts addressed such questions in an annoyed manner postgame.
“First off, Clayton is always going to say [he can continue], so I think we can put this to bed about every fifth day when I decide to take Clayton Kershaw out of a game,” Roberts said. “The stuff started to tick down a little bit. The last few starts, we’ve ridden him. There’s a long way to go. Regardless of the outcome, it was the right decision.”
(Via Dodgers Nation)
At the end of the day, Roberts is the one that calls the final shot. Fans should not be too upset considering that LA came out with the win and Kershaw’s health is being prioritized above all else.
This season is going to be a longer one than usual and LA has already run into numerous roadblocks. Kershaw is playing years below his actual age right now so let’s be satisfied with what we are receiving.
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