MINNEAPOLIS - Clayton Kershaw was in prime form - says it right - at the start of his season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, leaving no worries about his health after meeting no resistance from the Minnesota Twins.
When it came time for manager Dave Roberts to relieve him, Kershaw didn't even fight.
Kershaw took a perfect play through seven innings for the Dodgers until he was pulled after 80 pitches, dominating the Twins with 13 strikes from 21 batsmen during Wednesday's 7-0 victory.
"They are selfish goals," Kershaw said. "We're trying to win. That's all we really are here."
Roberts consulted with Kershaw after the sixth, and the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner told him his priority: another innings with an 85-pitch boundary.
"I would have loved to stay, but big things, man, big things," Kershaw said.
So on a gray, windy, 38-degree afternoon at Target Field, Alex Vescia stunned in eighth place from blue-clad Dodgers fans in a crowd of 17,101. Vescia dropped Minnesota's first and only hit - a one-out single by Gary Sanchez.
Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux and Austin Barnes scored one home after the eighth-place finish against reliever Derek Rodriguez, who debuted his twins.
Chris Paddack made his debut with the Twins, less than a week after the acquisition in a trade with the Padres. He allowed six hits and three runs in four innings.
Justin Turner hit a two-run single in the first, Tree Turner had a sacrificial fly in the second and Max Munsey entered deep in the ninth for the Dodgers, who had won the game 7–2 on the night before, having been called 1. 1/ was stopped for. 2 hours due to rain and ended after midnight.
Kershav was quite fresh.
Re-signed with the Dodgers this year for $17 million after missing more than two months in 2021 with a swelling in his left forearm, Kershaw is placed fifth in the rotation out of the gate. That unusual task was to give his arm more time to build strength in light of the limited spring training schedule.
"Blame it on the lockout," said Kershaw, who threw a no-hitter against Colorado on June 18, 2014. Blame it on me for not picking up baseball until January. "My slider in the last two innings was terrible. It didn't bite. It was time."
Although before that the breaking ball was very good. Kershaw threw 41 sliders, 17 with swinging strikes, with a fastball that didn't top 91 mph. He hit the side in the sixth and threw every twin batsman at least once except for Giorgio Ursella, who was dismissed in the third and left out on the right in his first two at-bats.
"He's been pitching like this for years. He's having a lot of success. So he knows how to do it," said Ursella, who hit a sharp grounder in the middle with two outs in the seventh , which skidded under Kershaw's glove. He tried to backhand the ball.
Lux shifted to the shortstop side of second base, made a sleek pickup and threw for the inning-and-out.
"Every decision I make is in the best interest of the player, their health and the ballclub, because a lot of people are excited for the Dodgers, not only for today and throwing Clayton a no-hitter, but for also to win the Dodgers World Series," said Roberts. "To do this, we need him to be healthy."
Roberts has previously drawn a starting pitcher with a no-hitter. Walker Buehler came out after six innings in May 2018, Rich Hill left with a blister after seven perfect innings in September 2016, and Ross Streipling was dropped in April 2016 after 7 1/3 innings.
"Those guys make it hard on me," Roberts said.
After his day was over, Kershaw hugged his catcher in the dugout.
"He said, 'Sorry,'" Barnes said. "I knew it was the right call and stuff like that, but I thought we could get it done. That's baseball."
It was Kershaw's 66th career double-digit strikeout game in the 380 regular season. The Twins became the 27th major league team they faced, with only the Red Sox and Orioles missing. He pitched against Boston in the 2018 World Series.
Next
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (1-0, 1.80 ERA) takes the mound for Friday's home opener against Cincinnati at Dodgers Stadium. LHP Rivers Sanmartin (0–1, 19.29 ERA) pitched for the Reds to start a four-match series.
Twins: After a day on Thursday, RHP Joe Ryan (0-1, 4.50 ERA) takes the mound at Fenway Park on Friday to begin the four-match series against Boston. RHP Nick Pivetta (0-1, 6.35 ERA) starts for the Red Sox.