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LOS ANGELES – At a party that ended with an unhindered return of Joc Pederson and an impressive comeback from Clayton Kershaw, the Los Angeles Dodgers received their best news inside, where X-rays on Cody Bellinger's right knee came back negative.
Bellinger, the best baseball hitter earlier this season, avoided fear when a quick 150 km / h ball from Luis Castillo, leaving the Cincinnati Reds, slightly missed his kneecap at the bottom of the third.
Bellinger, with a .433 / .513 / .925 slash in his first 18 games, squatted to ease the pain, then slowly limped up to first base, ran slightly along from the foul line and remained in the match until Alex Verdugo replaced him in the right field for the next half-run.
Yasiel Puig put both hands on his head in disbelief as soon as Martinez's pitch had been in contact with Bellinger's knee, but Bellinger felt relieved to touch him painlessly. As soon as he started walking on it, Bellinger said he would be fine.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expects the typical pain and stiffness on Tuesday, but it does not appear that Bellinger will miss a long time.
Kershaw was "frustrated" when he saw the incident.
"You can not miss that much," said Kershaw. "He's a very good pitcher, he has some great stuff and he's dominated in three starts, obviously a little wild tonight, but you can not miss it that much." It was really bad.
Kershaw, on the other hand, did not miss much. He dropped out a circuit in Puig's first two-round run – "I would have liked to be able to do anything other than give up a Puig circuit in the first game," said Kershaw – but there's nothing wrong with it. another in seven innings. .
Kershaw had averaged only 90 mph on his fastball during his debut in 2019 and, according to a scout, did not throw his slider with enough depth to prevent him from looking like to a cutter for most of the night. But he had a sharp curve, a pitch that he launched 21% of the time to a start that saw him allowing only five hits.
"It was fun," said Kershaw, who retired six batters and did not walk. "It's just fun to be back, fun to be in games that matter."
Kershaw only needed 84 yards to record 21 outs. From the weight room, he observed another former teammate, Matt Kemp gives the Reds a one-point lead with a two-point single for ninth-ranked Kenley Jansen and then sees one of his current teammates, Pederson, win with a flourishing two-point homer down half.
Kershaw entered the off season, determined to add more speed to his fastball and more depth to his slider, then felt discouraged when shoulder problems began to appear. afflict early in the spring training. He regained his strength, progressing through two minor league re-education outings before being removed from the injury list for the first game of the series against the Reds.
He started at this beginning with some uncertainty as to how his material would play in a setting like this.
He left again encouraged.
"It certainly helps me remember that I can do it – get out guys, do it effectively," Kershaw said. "Certainly things that you have to work from tonight, it was good, but overall, I think it was a good first step."
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