Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw Announced As Opening Day Starter

In life there are the known certainties — death and taxes — though Clayton Kershaw starting on Opening Day for the Los Angeles Dodgers may be worth including on the list.

While manager Don Mattingly previously played coy when asked about who would be his Opening Day starter, he announced Monday Clayton Kershaw would get the nod, via J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News:

Clayton Kershaw is the #Dodgers' opening day starter, per Mattingly.

— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) March 2, 2015

The Opening Day start will be Kershaw’s fifth-consecutive, which is well ahead of Sandy Koufax (one) but trails Don Sutton (seven-consecutive). Last season, Kershaw took the mound in the first game of the Opening Series in Australia and was scheduled to start the Dodgers’ domestic and home openers.

However, he never made it past Australia due to shoulder inflammation that sidelined him for the first month of the season. Through his first four career Opening Day starts, Kershaw is 3-0 with 26 strikeouts and has allowed just one run over 25.2 innings.

In his 2013 Opening Day start against the San Francisco Giants, Kershaw tossed a complete-game shutout and hit a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning what finished a 4-0 Dodgers’ win over their rival.

The reigning National League MVP and three-time Cy Young Award winner will face the Padres on April 6 in their first look at former teammate Matt Kemp. Now in San Diego, Kemp claimed he’s part of the best outfield in baseball and recently said he’s looking forward to facing Kershaw.

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