HOUSTON — Clayton Kershaw’s first start at Minute Maid Park since living a nightmare in October 2017 ended Tuesday night with a warm ovation walking off the mound after 7 2/3 brilliant innings in the Dodgers’ 9-2 win over the Houston Astros. He moved with his head down before subtly acknowledging the Dodgers faithful populating the hostile territory with a tip of his cap.
Kershaw’s previous outing between those lines is one he’ll never forget. He gave up six runs and lost two leads over 4 2/3 innings opposite the Astros in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. He didn’t generate a swing-and-miss with any of his 51 breaking balls. The Dodgers went on to lose in seven games. Two years later, the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme was exposed, and Kershaw’s outing was dissected across the country.
Kershaw returned Tuesday to hold the Astros to one run on four hits until he was pulled with two outs in the eighth inning. He threw just 81 pitches — and 11 over a 65-minute span as the Dodgers exploited the Astros’ bullpen’s inability to throw strikes. He recorded six strikeouts without a walk. He produced seven whiffs, six with breaking balls.
Two other members of the 2017 team gave Kershaw more than enough run support. First, Justin Turner clubbed a two-run home run off former Dodger Zack Greinke in the fourth inning for his first extra-base hit since May 8. Two innings later, Chris Taylor lofted a two-out, two-run bloop single to right field to double the lead as the Dodgers (30-18) collected their eighth straight win and 12th in 13 games. The Astros (26-22) have lost four consecutive games.
