*Photo from CBS Sports*
In Clayton Kershaw's first game of the 2020 season, he sure didn't disappoint. Kershaw allowed just 3 hits, Mookie Betts homered into the pool, and the Los Angeles Dodgers shut out the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0 in Kershaw's debut. The Dodgers, who already looked good, now have Betts hitting stride and Cody Bellinger starting to heat up. In short, they'll be getting even better.
The Dodgers got on the board in the first inning, when Bellinger hit a slicing, line drive two run homer down the right field line, just keeping it to the left of the foul pole to make it 2-0 Dodgers. It stayed that way until the 5th inning, when Betts took a pitch to right center field, making a splash in the Chase Field pool and making it 3-0 Dodgers, which held for the rest of the game.
Kershaw threw 5 2/3 innings in his season debut, allowing no runs and just 3 hits, walking no one. He struck out 6 hitters for the win. Kenley Jansen pitched the 9th, striking out two hitters to earn the save. Kershaw said of his season debut that ''It was fun, I missed it, it was hard to miss opening day and I didn't know how long it would take for my back to get better. It bounced back pretty quick, so I was just thankful to get out there today. Felt good, it was awesome.''
Merrill Kelly took the loss for Arizona, despite an overall solid performance. Kelly threw 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and no walks, striking out 4 hitters. In the end, despite that, it was just a couple of mistakes that hurt Kelly. Andrew Chafin, Stefan Chriction, and Javy Guerra also pitched for the D-Backs.
The D-Backs fall to 3-7 on the season, thanks to some tough luck losses, against both the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. Manager Torey Lovullo said postgame that ''We're extremely frustrated right now, a day off tomorrow will hopefully recharge our batteries. Our players are obviously not swinging the way they want.''
After winning the series, the Dodgers head back to Southern California, but to San Diego, to take on the Padres for a 3 game series. Walker Buehler will start the first game for the Dodgers. After a day off on Monday, the D-Backs welcome the Houston Astros to town for a 3 game series, where LHP Madison Bumgarner will start game one for the D-Backs.
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