Clayton Kershaw was encouraged by how he felt after a shaky
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He threw 55 pitches, starting out strong before laboring through his final inning in an 8-3 win.
”Good to be back,” Kershaw said. ”Now I can focus on getting better.”
The lefty ace was scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City at Omaha, but Los Angeles decided Friday to have him pitch in New York because of precarious weather in Nebraska. Kershaw had been sidelined since June 1 with a lower back strain.
Kershaw was electric in the first inning. He froze leadoff man Brandon Nimmo on a curveball for a three-pitch strikeout, got Todd Frazier looking for a five-pitch K and induced a weak grounder to the mound from Asdrubal Cabrera.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner wasn’t as sharp after that. Michael Conforto and Jose Bautista lined consecutive doubles off him in the second inning to tie it at 1, and Kershaw threw 25 pitches in the third inning, including an RBI single by Wilmer Flores to put New York ahead 2-1.
Kershaw struck out four, walked one and allowed five hits before Chris Taylor hit for him in the fourth. Kershaw expected to be limited to about 60 pitches. He threw a simulated inning in the batting cage after begin replaced.
”The most important thing, he came out of it feeling good
Rock Ya-Sin Jersey , feeling strong,” manager Dave Roberts said. ”Felt like he could go longer. As far as the stuff, I thought the slider got better. I thought the fastball coming out of his hand was good from the first pitch, and the curveball I thought was pretty good.”
Taylor lined a two-run double off Mets ace Jacob deGrom for a 3-2 lead. Rookie lefty Caleb Ferguson came on to pitch the bottom of the fourth – he was Saturday’s scheduled starter before LA canceled Kershaw’s rehab outing. Ferguson threw four scoreless innings for his first major league victory.
Kershaw pleaded with Roberts to throw in the majors instead of Triple-A and won out because of projected rain in Omaha. The weather held off in Nebraska, though, and Oklahoma City started on time Saturday night. Roberts laughed before the game when a reporter suggested he’d been duped.
”Pitching a rehab game is to make sure you’re healthy, right? So I think tonight, same thing,” Kershaw said. ”Proved I’m healthy
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Taylor was held out of the Dodgers’ lineup for the second straight day with a tight left hamstring but was available to hit. He may be ready for more Sunday, though he’ll likely be held out of the lineup then, too. He was pinch run for by Ross Stripling after his go-ahead double.
Rookie righty Walker Buehler (4-1, 2.63) is still dealing with soreness from a right rib microfracture. Buehler nixed a scheduled bullpen session Saturday, and Roberts said he may throw Sunday if there’s improvement.
Adam Liberatore was optioned to Triple-A to make space for Kershaw.
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HOUSTON — Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch occasionally bristles at conventional methodology, particularly given the availability of superior data and how its dissemination shapes decisions.
For instance, last Friday in Kansas City, the Astros (50-26) recalled first baseman Tyler White to take the roster spot of left-handed reliever Reymin Guduan, who made one appearance two days earlier before being placed on the paternity list for the birth of his child.
That move left the Astros one arm short in the bullpen and
Khari Willis Jersey , when Guduan exhausted his time on the paternity list, the organization returned him to Triple-A Fresno instead of recalling him to Houston.
The Astros have completed two series with an extra position player on their bench, a move that some might consider unorthodox but one Hinch is reticent to harp on, despite being asked about his roster configuration more than once in the past week.
“In the heat in Kansas City, it was nice to have an extra guy when we won by a lot,” Hinch said of a 10-2 victory on June 16. “Maneuvering some pinch-hit opportunities has been key. Obviously, it allowed us to start an all right-handed lineup (Tuesday against Rays left-hander Blake Snell) and give (second baseman Jose) Altuve most of the day off.
“Our starters have gone pretty deep … the last two outings, which has allowed the bullpen to get rested. It feels a little different to have seven relievers, but in actuality
Josh Allen Jersey , that’s too many. I’d have five position players on the bench if I could.”
The Astros, who will open a three-game series with the Royals on Friday at Minute Maid Park, will stand pat with seven relievers for the immediate future.
Right-hander Joe Smith, currently on the 10-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation, has begun a throwing program and is poised for a return to the active roster that could reset the bullpen balance.
Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (4-8, 4.15 ERA) will start the opener for Houston. He is 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA in seven career starts against the Royals and picked up the win over Kansas City in his last start, allowing two unearned runs, six hits and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings in a 10-2 victory on June 16.
Keuchel had been 0-3 with a 7.33 ERA in his previous five starts.
The Royals will counter with left-hander Danny Duffy (3-7, 5.55 ERA) on Friday. Duffy surrendered seven runs (six earned)
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Kansas City (22-52) has dropped nine consecutive games and 15 of 16 overall, including all three games during a series against the Astros last weekend at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals are batting .188 this month, their worst record in any month under ninth-year manager Ned Yost.
The Royals last won a road series on May 21-23, taking the final two games of a three-game set at St. Louis.