Let’s face it, the mere thought of witnessing the best hitter in the game going up against the best pitcher in the game is flat out intoxicating. It was enough to draw 47,871 hearty souls through the turnstiles at Dodger Stadium on a (very) hot Sunday afternoon. But the highly anticipated mano a mano battle between future Hall of Famers Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw fell a bit short of the marquee matchup fans had hoped for – especially Angel fans.

Don’t get me wrong, Trout’s four plate appearances against Kershaw weren’t without drama. In fact, in three of the four, the potential go-ahead run was on second base.

The first Trout-Kershaw matchup of the day occurred in the top of the first inning. That inning – and the game itself – began with a leadoff  double into the left field corner by speedy Angels third baseman David Fletcher. This was followed by a failed sacrifice bunt attempt (pop-up) by Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons bringing Trout up to the plate with one out and a runner on second base. Trout drew a seven-pitch at-bat to put runners at first and second, still with only one out. And even though Kershaw managed to strikeout struggling Angels left fielder Justin Upton on three pitches, he walked Angels second baseman Ian Kinsler to load the bases and bringing Angels first baseman Jefry Marte to the plate. After a gritty eight-pitch at-bat, Kershaw finally got Marte to chase an 88-mph slider for strike three to escaped the inning unscathed … except for the 29 pitches it had cost him.

Round two of the Kershaw vs. Trout title fight came in the top of the third inning, when the Dodgers ace got Fletcher, Simmons and Trout to each ground out, needing only six pitches to do so. Trout’s grounder was a bullet one-hopper to Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, whose laser throw across the diamond to Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger beat the extremely fast Trout by a full step to end the inning.

After striking out Fletcher to leadoff the top of the fifth inning of the now 3-3 ballgame, Kershaw gave up a double to Simmons to once again bring Trout to the plate with the go-ahead run on second. This time Kershaw got the 26-year-old Vineland, New Jersey native and Angels 2009 first-round draft pick (out of Millville High School in Millville, New Jersey) to fly out to Dodgers right fielder Matt Kemp, allowing Simmons to take third base. But once again, Kershaw did what Kershaw does and struck out Upton on a 92-mph fastball that Upton foul tipped into the glove of Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal to end the threat.

This is not the guy you want to see at the plate with the go-ahead run on second base, which Kershaw did three times on Sunday. (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

The final matchup between two of the best to ever play the game came in the top of the seventh inning with the score still tied 3-3. Kershaw began the frame by walking Angels replacement first baseman Luis Valbuena on a very close ball four. Valbuena advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Fletcher. Kershaw then struck out Simmons on three pitches to once again bring the American League’s third leading home run hitter to the plate with the potential go-ahead run on second base and two outs. It was an epic battle which, although only six pitches long, again had two very close calls that did not go Kershaw’s way. On a 3-2 count and the final pitch of the at-bat, the seven-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, two-time AL MVP, two-time All-Star Game MVP, and former Wilson overall defensive player of the year somehow managed to lay off Kershaw’s near perfect 90-mph slider for ball four. It was Kershaw’s 108th pitch of the afternoon and would be his last.

How Trout was able to lay off of Kershaw’s near-perfect slider for ball four in their final matchup of the day is a complete mystery … except for Mike Trout, that is. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

With the All-Star break only seven outs away, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts brought in right-handed starting pitcher Kenta Maeda to try to get the final out of the seventh inning. Maeda promptly hit Upton with a pitch to load the bases. But with ice water in his veins, the unrattled 30-year-old Senboku-gun, Japan native struck out Kinsler on a 2-2 count to end the inning with the bases loaded.

Without question, the key moment of the game occurred when Maeda got Kinsler to chase an absolutely filthy 84-mph slider in the dirt to end the seventh inning with the bases loaded. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The Dodgers would score in the bottom of the inning on Kiké Hernandez ‘s 16th home run of the season and would add a huge insurance in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Andrew Toles to give the Dodgers the 5-3 win and send them into the All-Star break in first place in the NL West, albeit by a scant .5 game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ironically, Maeda was credited with the win for his 0.1 inning of work, having made a grand total of seven pitches, none of which were to Mike Trout.

“It was a ball, the umpire did a good job,” Kershaw said after the game about that final matchup between he and Trout. “I think he had just called a ball on Simmons the at-bat before. According to the little box [on the television broadcast], it was a ball on Simmons too, So I guess he corrected himself, which is great. I just… I kinda wanted the same call I guess on Trout, but…

“A good eye, I thought I made pretty good pitches” added Kershaw. “He’s a good hitter for a reason, he takes the ones that are hard to hit. Yeah, I would have liked to get out of that inning, for sure.”

Did the seven-time All-star, five-time ERA title winner, three-time NL Cy Young award winner, Triple Crown winner, National League MVP, Major League Player of the Year, and Gold Glove winner lobby his manager to stay in to try to get that final out in the seventh inning?

“No, I kind of figured after I walked Trout there I … I can’t walk Valbuena to lead off that inning,” Kershaw answered. “I mean, sure, I would have liked to have gone, but Kenta, with his numbers against righties, it made a lot of sense.”

How has Trout fared against Kershaw – and vice versa – in the past? Believe it or not, the advantage goes to the future Hall of Fame pitcher over the future Hall of Fame hitter, and significantly so.

Counting Sunday’s four plate appearances (two at-bats), the pair have faced each other a total of 16 times since 2014. During that time, Trout is 2-for-13 (.154) with a double against Kershaw. He has walked twice (both on Sunday) and has struck out four times against the 30-year-old Dallas, Texas native and Dodgers 2006 first-round draft pick out of Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas. In fact, the guy with an insane career slash-line of .306 / .414 / .569 / .983 over eight major league seasons has a miniscule slash-line of 154 / .313 / .231 / .543 against Kershaw and his career 147-68 record and 2.38 ERA over 11 major league seasons.

Significant indeed.

But history and numbers aside, there wasn’t a single Dodgers or Angels fan in attendance on Sunday afternoon who wasn’t squirming in their seats every time Trout stepped into the batter’s box against Kershaw.

It just doesn’t get any better than this.