Prior to Sunday’s less-than-stellar outing against the San Francisco Giants at Camelback Ranch, Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw pitched in an intrasquad B-game on the backfields at the Ranch. The just-turned 33-year-old (on Friday) Dallas, TX native and three-time Cy Young Award winner tossed six innings in front of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, coaches, and a handful of reporters.

“He was good,” Roberts said when asked what he thought of Kershaw’s longest outing of the Spring. “I think Clayton’s always going to want striving for perfection, but we got him up and down, touched the sixth inning for hitters, and I thought the fastball command life much better than it was his last turn, the slider really good, and the curveball. So I thought positive overall, so he’ll pitch that next game [on March 26] against the A’s.”

As Dodger fans know, Kershaw struggled in his last outing against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 16, allowing five runs on eight hits in his four innings of work, and according to Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior, is “…trying to figure some things out.”

“I just think that with him, it’s more of kind of delivery and just making sure that he’s very in-tune with his body and his delivery, so if something is a little bit out of whack, he’s very cognizant of it,” Roberts answered when asked what he thought of Kershaw’s outing on Sunday. “But again, I thought today he threw the ball well, especially his spin; his slider, the curveball, really good today, and I thought the fastball was good, as well. So I thought today was much improvement from that last outing.”

What will the process be for Kershaw over the next several days before his next start?

“He’s just very methodical and he practices, prepares with the players with a purpose, and when an adjustment needs to be made, he makes it,” Roberts said. “But at the end of the day, he’s going to give you everything he has when he takes that baseball.”

Roberts was then asked having won a World Series, does he expect his ace to “…mellow out a little bit, or is he just as angry as he was last season?”

“I don’t think any of his past results, even a World Series championship, will mellow him out,” Roberts answered with a laugh. “That’s why, when it’s all said and done, he’s going to be on his way to Cooperstown, because he’s just is a consummate professional and pro, and competitor. So, yeah, this doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Stay angry, Kersh … Stay real angry.

Play Ball!

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