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LOS ANGELES – The gravity of all this is going to hit Clayton Kershaw at some point, maybe for a day far away from it. On Tuesday, the long-time Los Angeles Dodgers won his 166th career victory, placing him well beyond the ultimate Dodgers' ace, Sandy Koufax, the man to whom Kershaw has been so often compared.
Kershaw was respectful of the milestone but passed as fast as usual.
"It's just hard for me to take great prospects," he said. "One day, I hope to do that."
Kershaw is now the fifth-most-winning pitcher in franchise history, edging only Don Sutton, Don Drysdale, Dazzy Vance and Brickyard Kennedy, two big names of the time. Among those in the era of expansion, which began in 1961, Kershaw finds himself in a four-way tie for the 25th place of pitcher wins in their first 12 seasons. With three more W, a figure achievable given the health and success of his campaign of 2019, he will settle in the top 20.
But Koufax, who dominated the first half of the 1960s before injuries to his arm forced him to retire at age 30, is the lasting bond.
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"It's an honor for me to be in the same sentence as Sandy," Kershaw said at the conclusion of the press conference. Victory 16-3 of the Toronto Blue Jays. "What he could accomplish during his career, it would have been much longer if he was playing today, probably, because he could have been in good health." special thing, man. "
Kershaw was at his best as he prepared to face the modest Jays for the start of a six-game home game, posting a 1.40 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 13 walks on the ball. during his 45 previous rounds. Then he was hit. Bo Bichette took him deep twice, first on a fastball at 90 mph to open the game and then on a flat slider to open the sixth. Derek Fisher has also agreed to lead the third. But Kershaw went through the events as he has done so often this season.
"It's something that all great people possess – the ability to limit the damage," said Dave Roberts, manager of the Dodgers. "It's short-term memory, where, when something happens or you're in a difficult situation, you can always focus on the execution of your pitch."
Kershaw gave three solo circuits, but nothing more on the dashboard. He allowed three more hits and walked three times, but managed six innings for the 22nd time in 22 starts this season. He improved to 13-2 and placed his total at 2.71, the fifth lowest of the majors, although he continues to rely more than ever on brittle balls.
The slider – a field opponent who only beat .194 in his last seven starts – continued to present the depth needed to differentiate it from Kershaw's fastball, forcing the batters to go from 1 to 10 in the strikes that ended with it's Tuesday.
Kershaw rejected all that. He felt that he was often "bailed out", citing the double game in which Randal Grichuk was aligned in the fourth quarter. The southpaw would have asked to come for seventh place, his throwing count was only 89, but he said: "I did not win."
Earlier, Roberts said it was "certainly fair" to compare Kershaw to Koufax, who scored 97-27 with a 1.86 ERA from 1963 to 1966 (and a 0.95 ERA in 57 playoff heats) .
Kershaw will think about that another day.
"Being given the opportunity to do some of these things is really special, and I try not to lose sight of it," Kershaw said. "But I think somewhere in my brain I can not [fully appreciate the moment] and continues to be successful every five days, because you think you're better than you, you know? So you just have to continue.
"Maybe one day, I'll come back and think it's great."
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