April 2nd, 2013 at 6:15 am 
by Ron Cervenka Without question, Monday’s season opener at Dodger Stadium will go down as one of the greatest in Dodger history; Clayton Kershaw’s masterful pitching gem alone puts it in this category. But it was his dramatic solo home run in the bottom of the 8th inning, a monster 414-foot shot to straight away center and the first of his 5-year career, that not only etched his name in Dodger history, but in MLB history as well.
It’s hard to tell who was more surprised by Kershaw’s home run, him or the fans.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
Kershaw’s blast was the first home run by a starting pitcher in an opening day shut-out since Cleveland Indians Hall of Famer Bob Lemon accomplished this incredible feat on April 14, 1953 in a 6-0 one-hitter against the Chicago White Sox. Kershaw also became the first Dodger starting pitcher to hit a home run on opening day since Don Drysdale did so on April 12, 1965 in a 6-1 win over the Mets at Shea Stadium.
But while April 1, 2013 will forever be remembered as the day that Clayton Kershaw made history, there was an at bat that occurred very early in the game that set the stage for Kershaw’s date with destiny; an at bat that, of all things, ended up as a strikeout.
Although Giants ace and opening day starter Matt Cain certainly pitched well enough to win by holding the Dodgers scoreless in his six innings of work, allowing only 4 hits, one walk and striking out 8, it was his first inning strikeout of Dodger center fielder Matt Kemp that helped to orchestrate Kershaw’s historic day.
How so, you ask?
For those who watched the game in person or on TV the answer is simple – Kemp’s first inning at bat, albeit an eventual swinging strikeout, cost Matt Cain 11 pitches – or more specifically, 11 of the 29 pitches that he ended up throwing in that first inning alone.
Even though Matt Kemp’s 11-pitch at bat in the first inning resulted in a strikeout, it helped get Giants ace Matt Cain out of the game after only 6 innings. (Photo credit – Gary A. Vasquez)
Through six innings Cain had already thrown 92 pitches, 17 of which were to Matt Kemp on the day, as compared to Kershaw’s 65 pitches heading into the top of the 7 inning. Being the first game of the season, Giants manager Bruce Bochy had little choice but to lift Cain in the bottom of the 7th inning opting to bring in right-hander George Kontos, who retired the Dodgers in order in the inning. And though getting Matt Cain out of the game only stood to help the Dodgers, no one ever expected Kershaw to drive Kontos’ very first pitch of the 8th inning out of the ballpark.
Even though Matt Kemp went 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout in the season opener, it was his forgotten 11-pitch strikeout in the first inning that very well may have assured Kershaw’s place in history.
Posted in 
Good post by http://t.co/V6FnMsv8Om on opening day and Matt Kemps at bat http://t.co/y2fi3jUJrL
I remember when Matt struck out, I was thinking to myself, “great at-bat! Cain’s gonna throw a lot of pitches this inning.” And even though nobody in the house would have guessed Kershaw would go yard in that spot, when it happened, I immediately thought of the pitch count and how Kontos wouldn’t have been in the game had it not been for the Dodgers approach at the plate against Cain. As you said earlier, give credit to McGwire for preparing the team to face one of the best in the game.
@Think_BlueLA nice article. Kemp’s at bat was great. I knew we’d cash in later in the game because of it.
My thought exactly during that AB. That has been one of my concerns in the past few years that the Dodgers did not work counts and therefore raise pitch counts, as well get more familiar with the pitcher’s arsenal.
I hope Matt got commended for his effort. As much as I would like the Ellis boys to offer at the first one occasionally, I do like the confidence they have to work counts.