Former National League MVP and three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw looked like every bit of his prime self Thursday afternoon in a 6-1 Dodger win against the Seattle Mariners. Kershaw struck out 11 batters over seven innings while only allowing one run. He also passed Don Drysdale for second place in the Dodgers all-time strikeout list. Kershaw who now has 2,493 strikeouts, only trails Don Sutton with 2,696 strikeouts.
The biggest change in Kershaw’s pitching has been his increased velocity this season. His velocity jumped up an average of 1.5 mph from last season.