The home opener for the Dodgers went about like I expected it to. Great pitching from Clayton Kershaw, not much offense from the Dodger bats despite putting several men on base (1 for 11 with Runners In Scoring Position), and a shaky 9th inning from closer Jonathan Broxton but he still got the save. All of this added up to a win over the devending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants so I shouldn't complain.
Clayton Kershaw pitched an outstanding game. 7 Innings pitched, 4 weak hits allowed, 9 strikeouts, 1 base on balls, and 0 runs. He left with a 1-0 lead. He had a serious slider working, his fastball hit 95 mph on ESPN's radar gun, and he almost didn't need his change or his curve but they were effective as well.
Hong-Chih Kuo came on to pitch the eighth inning and he had some control issues when he first came into the game but came out of it unscathed. Broxton came in to close it out and he really looked shaky. He hit 97 mph on the radar gun but after he gave up the line drive homer to Pat Burrell with one out, it appeared like he lost confidence in his fastball. He threw slider and after slider to rookie Brandon Belt before he finally got him on a weak lineout to end the game.
Matt Kemp impressed me in this game. He singled, drew three walks, exhibited great patience in the process, stole a base, and scored both Dodger runs. Buster Posey of the Giants thought he could catch Matt Kemp napping on third base and tried picking him off and promptly threw the ball down the left field line, allowing him to score the first run. Maybe he has turned the corner, amped up his awareness, and has his head in the game to match his raw skills.
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