Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw calls Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski ‘super impressive’
MILWAUKEE — Talking about his All-Star selection before the game on Monday, Clayton Kershaw was also asked about the intriguing pitching matchup he would be part of on Tuesday.
But the 37-year-old veteran said he didn’t know who was starting for the Milwaukee Brewers, understandably being more focused on the Brewers’ lineup. When told that 23-year-old rookie Jacob Misiorowski would be starting for the opposite side, the future Hall of Famer only remembered him as “the guy who twisted his ankle on the mound” while taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his major-league debut.
“I know he throws hard,” Kershaw said. “I saw a couple highlights. He throws hard. But so does everybody. Except me.”
Misiorowski made a pretty strong impression on the three-time Cy Young Award winner on Tuesday night, holding the Dodgers to one run on four hits while striking out 12 in six overpowering innings.
“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said, anticipating the question after the game. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. I mean, everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball and made it – I mean, I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.
“The three guys that came out of the ’pen for them, plus him, I don’t think we saw a fastball under 98 (mph) today as a team. So you can talk about struggling all you want, but this was just a tough game. I can’t give up any runs. That’s just the way it goes.”
Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto gave Misiorowski a similar positive review.
“It’s a really good fastball,” Conforto said. “He comes from kind of a low slot where the curveball’s going to be in a spot where you want the fastball so he can use that. Obviously the velocity and the extension makes it play up. It was impressive.”
The 3-1 loss was the Dodgers’ fifth in a row, a stretch that has seen them score a total of eight runs while batting .199 as a team.
“Just really good stuff. Aggressive in the zone. But what really stood out to me was his command and control,” two-way star Shohei Ohtani said of Misiorowski after producing the Dodgers’ only run on a leadoff home run.
“You want to give credit to the opposing team. We faced pretty good pitching the last couple days. But at the same time, even if we don’t string hits, there are ways to still score runs. So myself included, we have to do a better job of just scoring runs when there are the opportunities to do so.”
GLASNOW RETURNS
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow will be activated from the injured list and start Wednesday’s game. It will be his first major-league start since April 27. In three rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Glasnow allowed eight runs on 13 hits and five walks in 8⅔ innings. He did build up to 78 pitches over 4⅔ innings in his most recent rehab start.
“I think just try to flood the zone,” Roberts said of his expectations for Glasnow. “I feel that getting his pitch count built up in his rehab was important. Honestly, I don’t know where his delivery is at. I’m excited to get him back on the mound. He’s excited to be back on the mound. We’ll see. But I’m expecting him to pitch well.”
Right-hander Landon Knack joined the Dodgers in Milwaukee on Tuesday but was not added to the active roster, spending the day on the taxi squad. He would be activated to back up Glasnow if the Dodgers’ bullpen was depleted after Tuesday’s game.
“We’ll see how we come out of this game,” Roberts said Tuesday afternoon. “That’s the thought behind bringing Landon.”
OHTANI PLAN
As has become standard, Roberts has declined to specify when Shohei Ohtani’s next pitching assignment will be, saying he would leave it “open-ended” for now.
But he did say Tuesday that Ohtani will pitch again before the All-Star break.
Dustin May, Emmet Sheehan and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are lined up to start the three games in San Francisco this weekend. Sheehan is the most likely candidate to move back and make room for Ohtani to pitch as an opener.
So far, Ohtani has pitched six innings in his four starts, allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out six. He hasn’t pitched more than two innings at a time so far and threw a season-high 31 pitches in his most recent outing against the Houston Astros.
ALSO
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott has been named to the National League All-Star team, replacing Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the active roster. Yamamoto is scheduled to pitch Sunday and will be ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game. Abbott is 7-1 with a 2.15 ERA in 15 starts for the Reds this season. …
Roberts said utility man Tommy Edman (toe) was still on track to return to the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game but Teoscar Hernandez (foot) was “in between” and would be re-evaluated Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Tyler Glasnow, 1-0, 4,50 ERA) at Brewers (LHP Jose Quintana, 6-3, 3.44 ERA), Wednesday, 11:10 a.m. PT, SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market only), 570 AM