Clayton Kershaw struggles in 2025 Dodgers debut: ‘I want to pitch better, I need to pitch better.’

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen remained dormant in the top of the first inning, even as Clayton Kershaw’s pitch count started to rise to a nearly untenable level.

35-36-37. … There were two outs, but there was seemingly also no safety net. Manager Dave Roberts was going to let his starter go longer than he wanted to escape the jam. To not yank their long-time ace in the debut of his 18th season, before his team had even taken an at-bat.

This start for Kershaw came with the looming question mark. Just how much does the 37-year-old still have left in the tank?

And the result — five earned runs over four innings, three walks, two strikes and a slew of hard contact — leaves the open the question of whether this start is a reflection of his current abilities, or just kicking the rust off after nearly eight months away due to surgeries on his knee and toe.

“I think that the stuff overall was impressive,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 11-9 loss. “I thought the velocity was more than it’s been in quite some time. I thought, at times, the slider was good. At times, the curveball was good.

“I think tonight, the command just wasn’t consistent. He got to a lot of two-strike counts and couldn’t put hitters away. Typically, that’s his hallmark.”

For all the offseason acquisitions meant to bolster the rotation, starting pitching has become a genuine concern for Los Angeles. Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow are all on the injured list. Shohei Ohtani remains likely months away from pitching in a game. A slew of relievers are hurt, and Roberts said after Saturday’s game that Kirby Yates (hamstring) is almost definitely headed to the IL as well.

In other words, Kershaw’s return to the mound went from a nice bonus for the Dodgers to a near necessity over the last several weeks.

“There were some good throws mixed in, but just not enough,” Kershaw said. “I’ll just look at it (Sunday) and try to figure it out. … Now we start analyzing the performance, and try to figure out how we can get people out consistently.”

“I think tonight, the command just wasn’t consistent,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Clayton Kershaw’s 2025 debut. “He got to a lot of two-strike counts and couldn’t put hitters away. Typically, that’s his hallmark.” (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)

Given how much the Dodgers need him, there might be some preliminary concern about the implications of his performance. Of the 15 balls put in play against Kershaw, nine were hit at least 95 mph off the bat. Of the 83 pitches he threw, only 48 were for strikes. All against an Angels offense that ranks 30th of 30 teams in on-base percentage.

“I just felt like him being Kershaw, us being a young offense,” Angels manager Ron Washington said, “that he would go out there and probably take us to school.”

But it was quite the opposite. Kershaw said he was heartened, at least, that his issue was a lack of command. There’s no serious underlying issue, and the framework for finding success is still there.

Last season, Kershaw threw just 30 innings, to the tune of a 4.50 ERA. The sample size is small, but the peripheral numbers weren’t ideal. His whiff rate was just 21.7 percent, down from his career average of 29.3 percent. His slider in particular generated far fewer swings-and-misses by percentage than in years past.

“I left a few in the middle,” Kersahw said of his go-to pitch. “I think more than anything, with the slider, there were a lot more foul balls, instead of swings-and-misses. That needs to be my out pitch. That needs to be the one I get a swing-and-miss on. I think it’s in there. The location wasn’t great today.”

Welcome back, 22! pic.twitter.com/6VWReStZF9

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 18, 2025

The night started vintage for Kershaw, striking out Angels shortstop Zach Neto, who flailed on one of those nasty sliders. Then the next four batters reached. A single, two walks, and a bases-loaded single for Logan O’Hoppe scored two runs.

His night improved, but the three-time Cy Young Award winner never got in a groove. Taylor Ward crushed a 412-foot homer in the second deck down the left field line. Andy Pages’ miraculous catch in the right field corner an inning later likely saved another two runs from being added to Kershaw’s ledger.

The result was poor, and even potentially concerning. But for Kershaw, this game was about more than just that result.

This was an emotional moment for the left-hander. Getting to run out to the mound he’s called home for two decades, appreciative of the opportunity to do something again, that’s long been a given for him.

“I love being back out there, it’s a special thing,” Kershaw said. “Obviously, I want to pitch better, I need to pitch better.”

He said that a desire to pitch, to be on that mound, keeps him coming back. Perhaps the chase for 3,000 strikeouts does, too, even if he won’t say that. He’s now exactly 99 percent of the way there. He’s hunting another World Series on a roster built to win it all.

More importantly for the Dodgers, however, is what happens the next time he takes the mound. And how can he improve for a team that’s unexpectedly relying on him to look far superior to how he did in his 2025 debut?

(Top photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)

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