Los Angeles Dodgerslegend Clayton Kershaw is already 35 years old.
You would think he is not the same pitcher who took the league by storm in 2008, throwing easy mid-90s heat and dominating hitters at will.
Except he is.
The only thing that has changed is fastball velocity: he sits in the low-90s these days, but that s just fine.
His Cooperstown Curveball , terrific slider, and pinpoint command of all pitches give him everything he needs to stay dominant even as he enters his mid-30s.
On Tuesday, he had another brilliant start for the Dodgers to keep up his excellent 2023 performance.
He handled one of the most challenging scenarios for a pitcher with shocking ease: pitching against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Kershaw completed six scoreless innings with just two hits and one walk.
He struck out two and earned his tenth win of the season.
Here are his June numbers:
Clayton Kershaw in June:
5 GS, 33 IP, 21 H, 4 ER, 8 BB, 30 SO, 1.09 ERA pic.twitter.com/kubnxbCxye
Talkin Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 28, 2023
This month, Kershaw has pitched 33 innings of a 1.09 ERA.
Take a moment to digest those incredible numbers.
He is allowing just over a single run for every nine innings he has pitched in June.
That s insane.
He has more starts (five) than earned runs allowed (four) this month.
For the year as a whole, Kershaw s ERA is at 2.55 in 95.1 innings.
As long as he remains in one piece, that s exactly the kind of production we should expect from him going forward.
Will he have one last Cy Young run in him?
It would be a fascinating story for one of the best pitchers in the history of the game.