LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw looked rusty during his first major league outing in nearly nine months.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings Saturday night for the Dodgers, allowing five runs and five hits against the Angels. He walked three, struck out two, threw 48 of 83 pitches for strikes and ended up with a no-decision as the Angels posted an 11-9 win.
The club’s career strikeout leader needs 30 more to reach 3,000 in his illustrious career.
Despite the shaky start, Kershaw said he was able to take away some positives from his return to the mound. He said he made some good pitches but lacked consistency, especially with his location.
“Obviously, I wanted to pitch better, I need to pitch better going forward,” he said. “But I think, for me, just to see that, I think there’s some glimpses of some stuff being there, which is good. The problem tonight was just command. I had really bad command tonight, so I think I can fix that, which is good, which is an encouraging thing.”
Kershaw, 37, was making his 2025 debut after recovering from offseason toe and knee surgeries. He gave up three runs in a 38-pitch first inning when Logan O’Hoppe delivered a two-run single and Matthew Lugo had an RBI single.
The Dodgers tied the score in the bottom half before the Angels scored once in the third inning on a home run from Taylor Ward and again in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Zach Neto. Kershaw exited after four innings trailing 5-4.
“He got to a lot of two-strike counts and couldn’t put hitters away, where typically that’s his hallmark. When he gets count leverage, he can get a strikeout,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Tonight, he just couldn’t put guys away. The stuff overall I was excited about.”
Kershaw made his final rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, yielding two runs on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts. He threw 57 pitches over four innings.
“Physically, I feel great,” Kershaw said. “You know, that first inning was long. I hadn’t had a long inning like that in rehab before, so I think my stamina was kind of put to the test early, which was good. Obviously, I took my lumps in this one but physically feel good and ready for the next one.”
In seven big league starts last year, Kershaw was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA before his season ended Aug. 30 because of pain in his left big toe. His injuries prevented him from pitching in the postseason as the Dodgers won their eighth World Series championship.
By throwing his first pitch Saturday night, Kershaw began his 18th season with the Dodgers, tying the franchise record also held by Hall of Fame outfielder Zack Wheat and shortstop Bill Russell.
“Leading up to this, it’s definitely … I don’t like the word emotional, but there’s definitely some thoughts,” Kershaw said about pitching again. “It’s just special, you know? So, I think as you have done it more and you get a little bit older, you just learn to appreciate it more. It was different.”
Kershaw entered with a 212-94 record and a 2.50 ERA in 432 appearances (429 starts) since making his debut for the Dodgers in 2008.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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