Pitchers in the National League have to understand the reality that no matter how well they pitch the chances of winning a Cy Young award are very slim. With the dominant Clayton Kershaw entrenched in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation for almost the next decade, there is very little chance to overtake him as the league’s best pitcher. Others can rack up consistent quality starts, but Kershaw is nearly unhittable. After winning the Cy Young in two of the past three seasons, Kershaw is in the process of his best season to date. By keeping teams scoreless in each of his last four starts, Kershaw is not only on his way to another Cy Young award, but also chasing history.
That history that Kershaw is chasing is Orel Hershiser’s scoreless inning streak of 59 which was set in 1988, also with the LA Dodgers. Currently Kershaw’s streak which began against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 13th, stands at 36 innings without allowing a run.
In an era where quality starts have been magnified, Kershaw has been unreal. During this streak, he has been the best pitcher on the planet. In his flawless no-hitter against the powerhouse Rockies offense, Kershaw struckout 15 batters and saw only four balls leave the infield. Over the past 36 innings, he has missed bats and kept hitters off the bases. He has only allowed 13 hits and only three of them for extra-bases. By striking out 44 batters he has not allowed hitters to have a chance to get even close to scoring.
Next in his path are the light hitting, San Diego Padres, who are last in the league in runs scored and have almost no imposing threats in their lineup. In his career, Kershaw has held San Diego to a 2.47 ERA while holding hitters to a .222 batting average. There is not a better team for him to face as he looks to climb up the ladder in the record books.
Should he remain scoreless against San Diego, his next two starts would come after the all-star break. The first start is projected to be against the St. Louis Cardinals. While the Cardinals seem like an imposing matchup, and currently have the second best team batting average against Kershaw in his career, their offense is not the same is in the past. During the streak, Kershaw has already faced the Cardinals, going seven scoreless while striking out 13. His next matchup, which could be record breaking, would be against the Pittsburgh Pirates a team that Kershaw has held to a measly .192 career batting average against and a miniscule 2.39 ERA.
With 23 innings left from history, Kershaw still has a ways to go before he can stamp his name in the record books, but if there was any question as to who is the best pitcher in the game, Kershaw’s current scoreless streak puts him well above the rest. Stringing quality starts together is difficult, but with stuff like Kershaw’s it is hard to bet against him making a run at the streak.
Statistics Provided by Baseball Reference
Photo Credit: AP
