Clayton Kershaw had one of his roughest outings of the season. Going into the fifth, he’d already thrown 87 pitches. After getting a man on with no outs, he faced Kevin Pillar, who worked an exhausting 12-pitch at-bat, wearing Kershaw down. That pushed him to 99 pitches, and after walking the next batter, Dave Roberts pulled him. It was the first time all year Kershaw failed to finish five innings. He didn’t hide his frustration, storming off the mound, kicking a Gatorade cooler, and slamming his cap down.
Things got worse as both runners he left on base came around to score after a towering home run. That made three earned runs in just four innings for Kershaw, who couldn’t register a single out in the fifth. It followed another bad start where he allowed five earned runs, which he hadn’t done all season until now. The Dodgers’ ace looked visibly shaken, and the team has to start worrying about his form heading into the stretch. Between Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu struggling, the Dodgers have more questions than answers in their rotation right now.