Although most of the focus on Saturday night went to Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig, who played in his first game since April 24, there was another Dodger who returned. His name is Clayton Kershaw and there is no other way to put it than “He’s back.”

Although the defending 2014 NL MVP and Cy Young award winner never really left, unlike Puig who spent six weeks on the disabled list for a strained left hamstring, the 27-year-old Dallas, Texas native was MIA – at least if you agreed with what a good many national media guys were saying. During the first month and a half of the season, rarely did a day go by where there wasn’t someone in the media saying or writing “What’s wrong with Clayton Kershaw?”

Now granted, it was getting a little uncomfortable when the guy who has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in six of his eight major league seasons (including a sub-2.00 ERA in his last two) was sitting on an unheard of 3.73 ERA through his first 11 starts, but it is Clayton Kershaw that we’re talking about here.

Kershaw allowed only one hit, walked two, hit a batter and struck out 11 in his eight innings of work on Saturday night. Like the commercial says, “Kershaw was lights out!” (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Well, for you what’s wrong with Clayton Kershaw-types out there, the Dodgers ace answered your question loud and clear on Saturday night against the team that has given him more troubles than any other – there is nothing wrong with Clayton Kershaw, and just like Yasiel Puig, he is back to his old self.

So what changed? Why have his last three starts been so good when the first nine resulted in a 2-3 record with four no-decisions?

“Just keep pitching and just hope the results are better. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t,” Kershaw said after Saturday night’s 2-0, one-hit shutout over the Cardinals. “I think maybe a little better execution of pitches at times but overall I don’t think there was too much difference, just getting the results I want finally.”

And just how was Kershaw able to get those result over the team that has been the source of many of his worst nightmares?

“I was able to get some quick outs. It’s always nice to get the first guy out of an inning, things like that,” said Kershaw. “I don’t really know, I guess just throwing strikes and hoping for the best.”

At one point in the game, Kershaw struck out three consecutive Cardinals batters looking. How was he able to do this to one of the best teams in all of baseball?

“I don’t really remember, I think I just executed some fastballs away that were pretty well located and probably tough to put a bat on,” Kershaw answered.

As with most successful pitchers, their fastball usually sets up the success of their other pitches and Kershaw drove this point home to the Cardinal hitters.

“It was probably the best slider-curveball combination I’ve had in a while,” Kershaw said. “I still walked two guys and that can’t happen obviously, but one game sometimes the curveball is better than the other and the other day the slider is better than the other. Today I kind of felt that I could use both, which helped.”

As for Puig, who struck out in his first two at-bats in his first game back from the DL, he absolutely smoked a double into the right field gap in his third at-bat to drive in what would prove to be the game-winning run. After the game Puig told reporters that he had no issues whatsoever with his hamstring.

“I only had one chance to run the bases when I got the double,” Puig said through an interpreter. “But my base running felt great.”

Not only is Puig back, but so is his signature bat flip.
(Photo credit: Ron Cervenka – Click on image to view SNLA video)

With Puig back in the Dodgers line up and Kershaw back to his MVP and Cy Young award-winning form, the Dodgers are now poised to get back on the winning track. And with right-hander Zack Greinke going for the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon, you’ve got to like their chances.