Well opening day has come and gone at Petco Park, and after all was finished the team still standing was the Dodgers. For anybody who didn't watch this game could have been all kinds of crazy.
Minutes before the the game Vin Scully on the TV announced that despite the pleading of his manager, Don Mattingly, and pitching coach, Rick Honeycutt, Clayton Kershaw decided to take the mound. He had been suffering all day with a stomach flu, unable to eat, and leaking fluids from all ends. Scully even mentioned how Kershaw was needing to squat down and take breaks between throws of his long toss warm up. Despite how he felt Kershaw pulled himself together and marched himself to the mound perhaps hoping that game time adrenaline would get him through his ailment so that he could pitch.
However, things wouldn't be so easy, as it became clear on Clayton's second pitch, an 89 mph four seam fastball, that Clayton was not himself. Now to the casual observer there may not be much of a difference between a 90 mph fastball and a 95 mph fastball (Clayton's normal speed), but to baseball, it's a world of difference. Just ask Kershaw's teammates Ted Lilly or Chris Capuano, both know as soft tossing lefties, how much extra precision they need to get by on their 89 mph fastballs. Despite lacking his number 1 pitch to which he build his pitching repertoire around, Kershaw made it through the first inning on only 8 pitches, getting two groundouts and a flyout. The second took a little longer, the side was retired on 12 pitches, with two groundouts and a strikeout.
As the top of the third neared its conclusion up to the plate came Kershaw with a bat in his hand. One can only imagine the conversation between Kershaw and Mattingly before going to the plate, but one must assume that with Kershaw's condition Mattingly would have said, "take it easy. Don't swing and don't get hurt. Concentrate on your own pitching." However taking it easy isn't something Clayton does, instead on a 1 and 1 pitch he hits a single to left field. When the left fielder then bobbles the ball, Kershaw only hesitates for a moment considering his condition before throwing caution to the wind and running down to second.
When Kershaw slowly walks to the mound in the bottom of the third he is clearly fatigued he gets two quick outs on a ground out and strikeout before the wheels start to come off the wagon. Soon after two singles, a wild pitch and a walk the bases are loaded. Kershaw is facing Nick Hundley. After 3 pitches the count is 1 and 2. Kershaw takes a deep breath, reels back and fires. it's a 92 mph fastball, his second fastest pitch of the night. Even with all his remaining strength mustered into the throw it's still well below his average speed. However, the pitch was fast enough as it caught the inside corner of the plate and sent a frozen Hundly back to his dugout. Kershaw having retired the side walks slowly back to the dugout. As the Dodgers worked the top of the fourth for 3 runs, we were told that Mattingly found Kershaw laying on the floor in the tunnel behind the dugout. Kershaw could barely move, but he was working up the effort to go out and pitch another inning. At that point Donnie Baseball told the young pitcher that he was done for the day, and the bullpen would finish up the game.
People always talk about how cliche movies can be, and that life is never like the movies. What compels us to watch sports is that it contains real life moments that do defy definition. If you ask a Dodger fan which is a greater moment, Roy Hobbs light shattering home run in "The Natural", or Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series, without a doubt that person would say Gibson's was the most moving. In truth, movies many times are an attempt to copy a small part greatest moments in life. Kershaw's battle against adversity yesterday was such a moment, and if you haven't seen it yet I suggest you do.
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