Much has happened since the southpaw Clayton kershaw climbed the ridge on July 3 at Nationals Park. The Dodgers acquired Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals: Walker Buehler and Mexico’s Julio César Urías are having their career seasons, Corey Seager is back from a broken wrist and Mookie Betts is hitting more consistently despite a hip problem.
That conglomerate of good news over the past two and a half months has led the Dodgers to racking up victories at an unbridled pace, even with Kershaw missing a considerable amount of time to a stiff left forearm. But no matter how well the Dodgers have played in the absence of the mountaineer, there is no doubt that the team is better with a future Hall of Fame inductee in health.
After a two-month absence, Kershaw returned to the mound in style on Monday, allowing one run and four hits over 4.1 stages in Los Angeles’ 5-1 win over the D-backs at Dodgers Stadium.
With that victory, the Dodgers’ magic number to secure a postseason berth is two. They are 2.5 games behind the Giants, who beat the Padres on Monday in the bid for the NL West title. Los Angeles has 14 games remaining on the season.
“For me, being able to be a part of this is special,” Kershaw said of his comeback. “I will never take being in a playoff fight for granted. The Giants are not losing, so they are not making it easy for us. It will be fun”.
Kershaw’s return increases the Dodgers’ chances of winning another World Series. It gives the team another proven starter to a rotation that already has Scherzer, Buehler and Urías. Those four can compete against anyone in a postseason series.
“He’s the man,” Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said. “We are excited for his return.”
Juan Toribio / MLB.com
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