The MLB season is halfway through June and the NL West standings show the Arizona Diamondbacks in first by three games. Right behind them is the Los Angeles Dodgers led by the bats of Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, but more importantly the left arm of Clayton Kershaw. 

In his 16th season, Kershaw has a win-loss record of 8-4, 93 strikeouts, and an Earned Run Average (ERA) of 2.95. Right in the same range as his legendary career ERA of 2.49. 

The future Hall of Famer is now 35 years old, and even with three Cy Young awards, an NL MVP, and a World Series championship on his resume, he continues to be a reliable act of dominance on the mound.

In another grueling season of Dodgers starting pitchers becoming riddled with injuries, the team looks to “The Claw” once more. 

Currently, the beat-up Dodgers rotation sees Julio Urías, Dustin May, Noah Syndergaard, Ryan Pepiot, and Walker Beuhler all on the injured list (IL) for at least 15 days. With so much talent still left to recover, the rotation now holds Tony Gonsolin, Michael Grove, promising rookie Bobby Biller, and of course Kershaw. 

Miller especially has received praise from Dodgers fans in his 3-0 start to the season, but he has also quickly gained the respect of the organization’s most prized arm. 

“I kind of thought he just reared back and threw 100 and just kind of whatever happens, happens. But no he’s got a — that slider he was throwing against the Yankees was real. That was a really good slider. You’ve seen flashes of a good curveball, throws his changeup enough too so he’s got four legit pitches,” Kershaw said on AM570 LA Sports Radio.

Kershaw’s most recent heroics came on the road when the Dodgers were down two games in a series against the Cincinnati Reds. To avoid being swept, Kershaw dialed in his best stuff and struck out nine batters in seven innings for the win.

“It seems like every time Clayton is taking the mound, this is a must-win or he’s gotta go deep and cover innings. He did just that,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts last week.

Going deep into games and continuously taking the mound is a job Kershaw has tackled for a significant portion of his career. He has pitched over 200 innings in a season five times and has pitched at least 30 games in a season six different times. Earlier this season, Kershaw secured his 200th career win and is now two games away from his 12th double-digit win season.

If Kershaw can continue to have the all-star season he is producing, and the young pitchers can hold off enough for the bullpen to take over games, the Dodgers have a chance at staying close to Arizona while the rest of the rotation recovers.