{"id":58922,"date":"2025-06-27T08:39:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T08:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=58922"},"modified":"2025-06-27T08:39:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T08:39:19","slug":"dave-roberts-tempts-dodgers-fate-with-controversial-clayton-kershaw-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=58922","title":{"rendered":"Dave Roberts tempts Dodgers fate with controversial Clayton Kershaw call"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-black font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large\">Dodgers fans don&#8217;t have an issue with Dave Roberts for once.<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex items-center justify-between text-darkGrey font-group-bigger\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_5087,h_2861\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/229\/01jyq0qm5q0gymydy55v.jpg\" alt=\"Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants\" width=\"5087\" height=\"2861\" data-uw-rm-alt-original=\"Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants\" data-uw-rm-alt=\"ALT\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants | Ezra Shaw\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Los Angeles Dodgers\u00a0ace Clayton Kershaw is closing in on 3,000 career strikeouts. Kershaw is an ace and an icon, specifically with the Dodgers. He deserves a call from Cooperstown when his time comes, but he is also still contributing to a contending team. This is why Dodgers manager Dave Roberts warned fans that Kershaw&#8217;s chance at history was likely come at home.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Kershaw was just three strikeouts short of\u00a0reaching 3,000\u00a0against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. He was taken out after just 71 pitches, leaving some Dodgers fans to wonder if they were tempting with fate. The Dodgers will likely defeat the Rockies on Thursday \u2013 and in general any time they play \u2013 but removing a starting pitcher early without cause is always an odd choice. Kershaw has been around for quite some time. He is no rookie on a pitch count.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">While the Dodgers would prefer Kershaw stay healthy long term, they have more important things to worry about, as well, such as the productivity of two-way star Shohei Ohtani, and the health of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell. Kershaw does not rank high on the list.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Could the Dodgers regret pulling Clayton Kershaw early?<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Dodgers fans are thrilled Roberts pulled Kershaw when he did because fans will get a chance to watch him make history at home.\u00a0Roberts\u00a0even hinted at such a move prior to Kershaw&#8217;s start.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">&#8220;Actually, I would argue there would be a temptation of taking him out and letting him do it in front of the home fans. I&#8217;m still not going to force anything. I&#8217;m going to watch the game and make my decision accordingly,&#8221; Roberts said before the contest.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Roberts knows his baseball history. Fans love to watch such moments in person. That is why Kershaw will get his chance to join the elite ranks of aces at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Why Dave Roberts made the right move to pull Clayton Kershaw<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">The Dodgers removing Kershaw when they did isn&#8217;t just a smart decision from the standpoint of baseball history, but it also makes sense as Los Angeles aims to compete for the NL West and top overall record in the National League. Pitching depth is an issue with the Dodgers \u2013 and has been in past seasons due to injury \u2013 that is not going away. Thus, forcing the bullpen to take on more innings just to relieve Kershaw early admittedly comes with some risk.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">That being said, Kershaw has given decades of his life to the Dodgers organization. Roberts can afford a couple of innings to repay the favor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dodgers fans don&#8217;t have an issue with Dave Roberts for once. Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants | Ezra Shaw\/GettyImages Los Angeles Dodgers\u00a0ace Clayton Kershaw is&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dave Roberts tempts Dodgers fate with controversial Clayton Kershaw call - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=58922\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dave Roberts tempts Dodgers fate with controversial Clayton Kershaw call - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dodgers fans don&#8217;t have an issue with Dave Roberts for once. 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