Clayton Kershaw Could Curtail Philadelphia Phillies' Hopes of Repeating

It was a moment that called for an ace, a stopgap to a roaring faucet of losing. There are certain times throughout a season where small slides entertain the possibility of becoming somber slumps. It’s those times when a team needs its best to fulfill the appropriate title and shift the streak in the other direction.

It was one of those times for the Dodgers, albeit a small sample in what has been a fruitful season, as they had just dropped the first two games after the All-Star break to the Houston Astros.

It’s not the division that worries the Dodgers, as that is all but wrapped up. It’s playing consistent baseball and riding a strong tide of momentum into the playoffs.

With the reality of dropping their first three games of the second half at home one loss away, Joe Torre sent his best to the mound.

The kid took the mound in the first, young gaze directed to the plate, crisp white jersey cascading down shoulders that have yet to be braced with the burdens of the world, a wild mind being tutored on the spot, and he delivered. Oh, boy, did he deliver.

Was it a surprise? No. But nothing seems to surprise anyone anymore when Clayton Kershaw takes his regular turn in the Dodgers rotation. If we had said in March that the Dodgers needed their best pitcher to turn around a losing streak in late July, we would have pointed the lineup card to Chad Billingsley or Hiroki Kuroda.

But here we are stranded in the simmering depths of summer, and Chad Billingsley has been wildly inconsistent of late, and Kuroda still looks like he’s getting through the growing pains that accompany a long stint on the disabled list. What has Kershaw done?

Nothing other than become the rock of the rotation; take the pressure of being labeled an ace off of Billingsley; begin to flash his brilliant potential faster than the Dodgers could have imagined; and set the stage for Los Angeles to be October’s alpha dog in the National League.

Since the beginning of June, Kershaw has a 1.42 ERA while striking out 49 in just over 50 innings. On the season, Kershaw’s ERA is 2.95, but the 21-year-old southpaw has only been getting better as he continues to understand the importance of pounding the strike zone early and often.

Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and catchers Russell Martin and Brad Ausmus continuously talk about to Kershaw about pitching to contact, especially considering his stuff. The one thing that haunts Kershaw is walks and high pitch counts, but let's be honest, laying it in there over and over is a mental challenge for a young flame thrower.

It’s not uncommon for young pitchers to want to strike out everybody, and that’s what oftentimes delays their arrival in the big leagues. Kershaw is no different. He is a big kid with big stuff and big swagger, and he doesn’t want anybody touching him.

We must remember that we are talking about a kid who averaged more than two strikeouts per inning during his senior year of high school, and also pitched a playoff game where he struck out every hitter (it was a five inning game).

But that’s the difference between the Kershaw of last year and the Kershaw of this year. He is getting it. He is realizing that with a mid-90s fastball, paralyzing curveball, and an improving change up that he can challenge hitters in the zone in order to get early outs, all while going for the punch out when he gets two strikes. He even has added a slider to the mix this season, and nobody is hitting him.

It’s scary to think that this is the first full season in the big leagues for Kershaw, and he is beginning to be known as the guy that the Dodgers want to have the ball in a meaningful game.

With the Phillies winning their 10th straight game Tuesday evening, many folks are jumping on that bandwagon in hopes of riding it to a second consecutive World Series title.

But as good as the Phillies are, they don’t have what the Dodgers have if this is the new Kershaw—i.e. two legit power arms at the front of the rotation. That would only change if the Phllies acquired Roy Halladay.

Any team would have to face Billingsley and Kershaw four times in a seven game playoff series, and that’s four guarantees of big heaters and plenty of strikeouts. The Phillies will have to hit their way to another title, but the Dodgers are close to their offensive equal while playing in a home park that is much more conducive for pitching. Philadelphia and Los Angeles rank first and third in the N.L. in runs scored, respectively.

As my dad and I sat a handful of rows behind the Astros dugout Saturday evening to watch Kershaw work, there was a family of Houston fans sitting directly in front of us. One middle-aged man was connected to the Astros organization in some fashion, as he was dressed sharply in slacks, a collard shirt, and an Astros sweater vest.

He was showing his friends pictures he had on his iPhone of Michael Bourn, Lance Berkman, and others, in Houston’s clubhouse. That was before he handed one of his guests an engraved 2005 National League Champions coin (I guess the good people of Houston are really clinging to that World Series berth).

As Kershaw blew away Miguel Tejada, Hunter Pence, and Ivan Rodriguez, all in one twisted assembly line of torture, I wondered how any team will be able to derail the Dodgers if they remain healthy and Kershaw joins Billingsley at the top of the rotation. When those guys are on, you can forget about it.

The gray haired man in the Astros sweater vest looked as another 95 mph fastball whizzed by a Houston bat, shook his head, and muttered to his neighbor, “Man, this kid Kershaw is getting some kind of good.”

If the road indeed is going where we think it is, nothing is going to stop Kershaw from obtaining playoff stardom and the Dodgers from tasting October glory. Not even the slugging Fightin’ Phils. Yeah, Kershaw really is some kind of good.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at [e-mail].