Dodger fans enjoyed a real treat Friday afternoon as 34-year old future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw took the mound at Camelback Ranch for the first time this Spring against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

In front of a sold out crowd of 12,691 and under sunny skies, the Dallas, TX native and Dodgers first round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in Dallas started the first three innings against the Halos. Kershaw gave up five hits, three of which scored. The first was a lead-off home run by Angels left fielder Taylor Ward.

Despite his rocky start, Kershaw faced sixteen batters with two strikeouts in his first Cactus League outing. He talked about this after the game with SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson.

“It was good to get back out there again,” Kershaw stated. “Everything feels good physically. Obviously, got some stuff to work on, but, you know, good first step. Just make some improvements and get back out there.”

The Dodgers’ ace didn’t have a problem with his initial experience with the pitch clock. Though he admitted that he did find himself looking at it frequently. He wondered if it would take his focus away, but that remains to be seen as he gets more exposure. After the game, Kershaw did share what he tried to do with his first outing.

“Every time the hitter called time and used their time I tried to hold it for like ten seconds,” the southpaw reflected. “It only happened twice, both times were bad results. So I don’t know if it was good or not, but I was well within the pitch clock every time. It wasn’t a big thing. I tried to, you know, pick-off twice in a row, just to see if I could get them sleeping. That didn’t work either, so, you know, it’s going to be an experiment here for a little while.”

As the season gets underway, some pitchers have been using the PitchCom device to call their own pitches, like Kansas City Royals pitcher and former Dodger Zack Greinke did when he played against Los Angeles on Saturday, March 4th. Kershaw shared his perspective when asked if this was something he was considering for his routine during the regular season.

“I put the little thing on there today just thinking I would use it. And it sounds good in theory, but I never like, once you get in that rhythm, I never used it once today,” Kershaw confirmed. “Especially if you have a game plan like facing hitters and going through a scouting report like you do during the season, we would be more on the same page. I don’t really see myself using it, but who knows, maybe.”

Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts was pleased with his starter’s first outing and shared that after the game as fans celebrated the 6-5 win against the Angels on a walk-off walk.

“You know I think the first thing of note was the velocity was up,” Doc said. “He was 92 (mph), touched 93 (mph) today. I don’t think his command was where he would like it to be. I don’t think he had his slider today, but you know Clayton. We got him I think through three innings. We got his pitch count up. So still a productive day for us.”

Another perfect day at the ballpark as we edge closer to the start of the regular season. And another Spring Training start for Clayton Kershaw is in the books.

Let’s go Dodgers!

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