Clayton Kershaw Named Co-National League Player Of The Week

After two strong starts, including a dominant outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, his postseason nemesis, Clayton Kershaw was named the co-National League Player of the Week. He shares the award with Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets, who also went 2-0 during the week.

Kershaw built on the momentum from his May 26 start against the Atlanta Braves, during which he had 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings. He called the outing his best of the season, and followed it up with another seven-inning effort against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 1.

Kershaw struck out seven and allowed two runs on five hits, picking up his fourth win of the season and moving above .500 for the first time in 2015. While he did what’s expected from the mound, Kershaw also chipped in with his first career three-hit game.

Then on Saturday, with the Dodgers stuck in a three-game losing streak and having dropped four of five games to the Cardinals this season, Kershaw put together his best performance this season.

The Dodgers’ ace recorded 11 strikeouts, which gave him 101 on the season, good for first in the NL heading into play Monday. The Cardinals managed just one hit off Kershaw and drew two walks as the left-hander kept them off balance with a steady diet of equally effective curveballs, fastballs and sliders.

Kershaw finished the week 2-0 with 18 strikeouts, and two runs allowed on six hits in 15 innings. This marks the sixth time he’s won NL Player of the Week honors and he joins Adrian Gonzalez as Dodgers to be recognized this season. Alex Guerrero was named the NL Rookie of the Month and Gonzalez Player of the Month for May.

Clayton Kershaw On Win Over Cardinals