Clayton Kershaw is not mortal: Throws one-hitter, has 13-pitch at-bat against Madison Bumgarner
Clayton Kershaw has 13-pitch AB during one-hitter
Heading into Monday's game against the Giants, the Dodgers just needed one more win to clinch the NL West while the Giants needed to keep winning to keep their slim division hopes alive. After San Francisco took the first game, 3-2, in 12 innings, the pressure was on in a matchup of big name hurlers on Tuesday: Clayton Kershaw vs. Madison Bumgarner. That's the type of matchup that almost deserves boxing match-esque broadsheets.
In the midst of another fantastic start, Kershaw came to the plate in the top of the fifth and decided to do something a little unexpected. While many would have assumed that Bumgarner would be the pitcher impressing with the bat, turns out that Kershaw had been planning on showing off a brand new skill he had bought with XP (or however athletes get better.)
With Bumgarner dealing, the three-time Cy Young winner showed off some Alex Cora-like contact abilities as he took Bumgarner 13 pitches deep before finally grounding out. It's the longest at-bat for a pitcher this season, topping three other pitchers with 11.
Kershaw even had plan while at the plate. "I started the at-bat with a big leg kick, trying to take a big swing and realized I no chance," he said. "So I tried to spread out and be as annoying as possible. I put a long at-bat on him and that helped definitely. My approach was not to strike out. When I got two strikes I knew I wouldn't get a hit, so I just tried to be annoying."
While a mortal man would be exhausted from swinging a bat so many times, Kershaw is certainly not a mortal. The left-hander pitched a one-hitter in Los Angeles' 8-0 victory, striking out 13 batters and walking only one. He also retired the last 19 batters he faced, thanks to pitches like these, which locked up Jarrett Parker roughly three separate times during its flight.
Kershaw's 13 K's also gives him 294 on the season. If that's how Kershaw's season ends, it would be the most since Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson topped 300 in 2002.