Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers are going through a rough time, and the three-time Cy Young Award winner showed his frustration in a big way this Sunday.
The current MLB champions got swept by the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium, joining the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals and the 1994 Atlanta Braves to sweep the Dodgers in a sesion series with a minimum of five games.
Everything is going wrong for Los Angeles, who have lost 10 of its last 12 games. The slump made manager Dave Roberts change his lineup by replacing slugger Shohei Ohtani with Mookie Betts at leadoff. That didn’t worked Sunday.
Clayton Kershaw has an epic meltdown
On a day where the Los Angeles Dodgers defense let down pitcher Clayton Kershaw, he slammed his glove and hat in the dugout after being taken out of the game, in a clear sign of frustration. The California team lost the match 65, with pitcher Lou Trivino taking the loss.
Kershaw was taken out of the ball game on the fifth inning after allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, one base per ball, with 2 strikeouts and 81 pitches (49 of them were strikes). Part of that had to do with the three errors the Los Angeles defense made.
Journalist Blake Harris wrote on X: “We haven’t seen this side of Clayton Kershaw in a long time. His defense broke him today.” The Dodgers, aiming for another World Series title after beating the New York Yankees in the October classic in 2024, are facing challenges in their starting rotation and are evaluating potential trade moves as the deadline approaches.
Some good news for the Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers got some good news, though… well, kind of. First baseman Freddie Freeman took an 88 mph sinker off his left wrist, looked down at his hands and began making his way toward the home dugout. The team was concerned with the way its player reacted that set off the alarm bells.
The Dodgers breathed a sigh of relief when X-rays on Freeman‘s wrist came back negative. He’s considered day to day with a left wrist contusion. Although Freddie has been in an extended slump — he has a .553 OPS since June 1 — he has nevertheless been an anchor of the Dodgers‘ lineup.
Overall, he’s hitting .292 with an .836 OPS. Miguel Rojas took over at first base after Freeman was hit by Milwaukee Brewers starter Jose Quintana with two outs in the sixth inning.
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