Clayton Kershaw was in prime form — call it perfect — in his season debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers, leaving no concern about his health after facing no resistance from the Minnesota Twins.
When the time came for manager Dave Roberts to relieve him, Kershaw didn’t put up a fight, either.
Kershaw took a perfect game through seven innings for the Dodgers until he was pulled after 80 pitches, dominating the Twins with 13 strikeouts in 21 batters during a 7-0 victory on Wednesday.
“Those are selfish goals,” Kershaw said. “We’re trying to win. That’s really all we’re here for.”
Roberts consulted with Kershaw after the sixth, and the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner told him his preference: one more inning with an 85-pitch limit.
“I would have loved to have stayed, but bigger things, man, bigger things,” Kershaw said.
So on a the gray, windy, 38-degree afternoon at Target Field, Alex Vesia entered for the eighth to boos from the blue-clad Dodgers fans in the crowd of 17,101. Vesia gave up Minnesota’s first and only hit — a one-out single by Gary Sanchez.
Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux and Austin Barnes hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the eighth against reliever Dereck Rodriguez, who made his Twins debut.
Chris Paddack had a rough first start with the Twins, too, less than a week after he was acquired in a trade with the Padres. He lasted four innings, with six hits and three runs allowed.
Justin Turner hit a two-run single in the first, Trea Turner had a sacrifice fly in the second and Max Muncy went deep in the ninth for the Dodgers, who won a 7-2 game the night before that was paused for 1 1/2 hours due to rain and ended after midnight.
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