The last game that the Dodgers played was on October 22, 2016 and oh what a painful game it was. It was Game-6 of the 2016 National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs. Had the Dodgers won, they would have been but one win away from making their first trip to the World Series in 28 years.

It didn’t happen.

On that day and with their backs against the proverbial wall, the Dodgers sent their best pitcher and the pitcher that many consider to be the best pitcher on the planet – Clayton Kershaw – to the mound. He would last only five innings, allow five runs on seven hits (including two home runs), strike out four and walk none while making a total of 93 pitches, of which 67 were strikes. And while most major league pitchers would kill for numbers like these, there is zero doubt that Kershaw considers it among the worst outings of his (then) eight-year MLB career. Unfortunately for the soon-to-be 29-year-old Dallas, Texas native, his teammates were unable to put up even one run of support and managed only two hits in the eventual 5-0 shutout that would bring an abrupt end to the Dodgers 2016 season.

Like I said … painful.

Lo and behold, exactly 127 days later, Kershaw would take the mound again for the Dodgers in the first of what will be 38 spring training games to begin the 2017 season. And while the hard-throwing, six-time All-Star. three-time Cy Young award winner and 2014 NL MVP left-hander wouldn’t go five innings, or three, or even two, he was perfect in his one-inning of work … perfect for everyone except Clayton Kershaw.

“When something doesn’t work in spring, I’m going to stress out about it and worry about it until I fix it,” Kershaw told reporters after his 12-pitch, eight-strike inning in front of 8,474 fans at Camelback Ranch. “I’m not just going to say ‘I’m going to figure it out at some point.’ Even if that might be the case, I feel like I have to harp on it and stress on it until I get it to where I want it to be.”

That ‘something’ was Kershaw’s one and only attempt at throwing a changeup, a pitch which, to this point, has not been in his arsenal but one that he has been working on for that last two seasons.

“It was OK. I threw one changeup that was terrible. That’s what I got mad about,” Kershaw said. “I got behind every batter today. But the results were OK, I got three outs, I’ll take it for today and get ready for the next one.”

To be brutally honest, White Sox slugger Melky Cabrera never had a chance against Kershaw’s devastating curveball. (Video capture courtesy of SNLA)

Those three outs consisted of a pop-up to short, a strikeout on an absolutely filthy (and classic) Kershaw curveball that Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully would have affectionately called ‘Public Enemy Number One,’ and a ground out to short. And although this may have been “terrible” or just “OK” for Kershaw, it was, in every sense of the word, perfect to everyone else.

“It’s always nice to see him out there when he’s competing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about his ace. “I know he’s probably going to lose sleep over that one changeup that he left out of the zone. But it was good. It was good to see him back out there.”

The Dodgers, who would go on to best their Camelback Ranch roommates, the Chicago White Sox, by a score of 5-3, got their first glimpse of recently acquired veteran second baseman Logan Forsythe, and a good glimpse it was. In addition to making several fine defensive plays, the 30-year-old Memphis, Tennessee native also collected the Dodgers first hit of the spring – a fly ball double over the head of White Sox center fielder Peter Bourjos in the bottom half of the third inning. Forsythe would come around to score on a subsequent single by Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner following a walk to 2016 NL Rooking of the Year Corey Seager, who also scored on yet another double by Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal to deep right-center field. Turner also scored on an RBI ground out by the newest Dodger Franklin Gutierrez.

Newcomer Brett Eibner collected the Dodgers first home run of the spring in the bottom of the sixth inning – an opposite field shot to right – to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. They added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning after singles by Chris Taylor, Scott Van Slyke and Darnell Sweeney. Taylor also collected the Dodgers first stolen base of the spring during Van Slyke’s at-bat.

Brett Eibner has the distinction of hitting the first Dodgers home run of spring training 2017.
(Video capture courtesy of SNLA)

Although it would be ridiculous to get overly excited over Saturday’s spring training opening day win, it is impossible not to get excited over Kershaw’s first outing since that fateful game 127 days earlier, especially a perfect outing.

…perfect to everyone except Clayton Kershaw, that is.