By Jon Weisman
August 22, 2013: Vin Scully announces return, Dodgers win, 6-0.
July 29, 2014: Vin Scully announces return, Dodgers win, 8-4.
August 28, 2015: Vin Scully announces return, Dodgers win, 4-1.
I do see a trend, though it hasn’t hurt to have Clayton Kershaw on the mound for two of those three games.
Tonight, Kershaw tied a season high with 14 strikeouts — one shy of the career high he set in his June 18, 2014 no-hitter — in the Dodgers’ third victory over the Cubs in five meetings this year.
Kershaw allowed a fourth-inning home run to Anthony Rizzo that tied the game at 1, but then retired the next 10 batters he faced, striking out seven, and didn’t surrender a hit the rest of the game. He threw 108 pitches in his eight innings of work.
Though Kershaw had his 31-inning home scoreless streak broken, the big lefty finished August with a 1.24 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 45 innings. He is the first Dodger pitcher to have at least 50 strikeouts in August since Hideo Nomo in 1995, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
Since May 26, Kershaw has a 1.28 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 126 2/3 innings.
Chase Utley, who tripled in the Dodgers’ first run (his first RBI with his new team) in the third inning, scored the go-ahead run from second base in the sixth on a wild pitch and throwing error. Los Angeles pushed across two more runs in the inning for breathing room.
oldbrooklynfan
You never can get too much of Vin Scully or Clayton Kershaw. Another awesome night of Dodger baseball. I was concerned with Clayton’s strikeouts and scoreless innings but now I feel, barring injuries, we’ll see a lot more of them.
I’ve been listening to Vin since he started in 1950 with Red and Connie when I was 12 years old. He’s the greatest.
Michael Green
Beyond the general happiness, I have to add this.
First, in an interview a few years ago (I may have shared this on this site), The Vin was asked where he’d be found on an off day and he said the hardware store, because he loves gadgets. He was then asked what his nickname would be if he had one and he said Clouseau because he’s such a klutz. Therefore, I concluded that Sandra Scully was afraid to let him retire, because of what he would do to their house if he had more free time.
Second, years ago, in a terrific and too short-lived magazine called Inside Sports, there was a profile of Vin. Jack Buck couldn’t resist picking on him and saying that the only games Vin did were Valenzuela’s home starts. If he gets to the point where he just wants to do Kershaw’s, that will be ok, too!