Say the name Kershaw and there isn’t a person in the civilized world who doesn’t know who you’re talking about. But even though most of us often refer to the extremely humble 28-year-old Dallas, Texas native by only his last name (or the shortened variation Kersh), it’s probably safe to say that he has no interest in being known or remembered by only one name, such as future Hall of Famer Ichiro (Suzuki). But there is one thing for certain, whether you call him Kershaw, Kersh, Kid K or Clayton, it’s also safe to say that he, too, is destined for Cooperstown.

A bit presumptuous, you say? Sure it is, but I’ll take that bet in a heartbeat and will stake the deed to the ranch on it.

On Tuesday night the hard-throwing left-hander with a curveball that has been dubbed ‘Public Enemy Number One’ by Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully became the first pitcher in MLB history to have six consecutive starts in which he struck out at least 10 batters while allowing no more than one walk over those six starts. He did so while leading the Dodgers to a 5-1 victory over the cross-county rival Angels of Anaheim in Game-2 of the annual four-game interleague Freeway Series.

Kershaw became the first pitcher in MLB history to record ten of more strikeouts in six consecutive starts while walking one or fewer batters. Angels slugger Mike Trout was his second victim of the night in the top of the first inning.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Kershaw was a balk away from throwing what would have also been his second consecutive complete game shutout, a balk that he acknowledges he committed.

“I fell off balance. I thought I stepped off in time but I was going to balk one way or the other,” Kershaw told reporters after the game. “I was going to try to jump off but it didn’t work too good.”

The balk occurred in the top half of the second inning after a leadoff single by Angels first baseman Albert Pujols. It was followed by a sharp comebacker to Kershaw by Angels catcher Geovany Soto that would have easily been a double play to erase Pujols but was instead followed by a line drive to short center field by Angels Johnny Giavotella moving Pujols to third base. This was followed by a line drive single to center by Angels left fielder Shane Robinson to give the Halos their only run of the night.

Even though Mike Trout made an extremely rare fielding error in the bottom of the third inning that allowed the Dodgers to score their first run, he made up for it by (easily) throwing out Kershaw attempting to go first to third on a Chase Utley single. “Mike’s got a pretty good arm, so it was probably pretty dumb on my part,” said Kershaw. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Four of the Dodgers five runs were the result of three home runs – the first a two-run shot by Joc Pederson in the fourth inning and the other two solo shots by Corey Seager in the seventh inning and a second home run by Pederson in the eighth inning. It was the third consecutive game in which a Dodger has hit two home runs in a game. Outfielder Trayce Thompson did so on Sunday night, Corey Seager on Monday night and Pederson on Tuesday night. The last time the Dodgers did so was in 2004 (Shawn Green – Adrian Beltre – Shawn Green).

Pederson’s two-run blast in the fourth inning proved to be the difference maker in the Dodgers 5-1 win over the Angels on Tuesday night. He added a solo home run in the eighth inning just for good measure.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Kershaw is now 6-1 on the season (4-0 in May) and has lowered his ERA to 1.67 – second best in the NL behind Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta’s 1.29 and tied for third in the MLB with White Sox left-hander Chris Sale.

The Freeway Series continues tonight at Angels Stadium with Dodgers right-hander Mike Bolsinger making his 2016 season debut against Angels right-hander Mike Tropeano (1-3, 3.68 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 pm and those affected by the on-going Time Warner Cable / DirecTV dispute will be able to watch the game live on the Angels Fox Sports West broadcast. Those who are fortunate enough to watch the game on SportsNet LA will be treated to Vin Scully on the rare road trip call.