“I didn’t really learn anything other than it’s not fun to not play”. “And it’s giving me good results”.
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Puig went 1-for-2 with a home run, three RBI and a season-high three runs scored and is carrying over his hot-hitting from the minor leagues as he’s batting.500 with a home run since his return to the big leagues.
Kershaw, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014, is 11-2 with a 1.79 earned-run average this season.
This injury sidelined him longer and has greater potential to affect him in the future – something that Kershaw is not willing to acknowledge. He reached over and they hugged as De Leon whispered “I did it”, leaving Juan near tears. “I’m not okay with it but I understand the situation”, Kershaw said, via MLB.com.
“I’ve talked to guys”.
“The good thing about getting into a game is that you’re thinking about getting a hitter out as opposed to how you feel”, Kershaw said. He threw 34 pitches, so after exiting the game, he went down to the bullpen to throw some more and get his pitch count up to 50.
“I worked when I was in Triple-A and I’ve tried to bring that work ethic here”, Puig said through an interpreter. “I look forward to staying in the rotation”.
Clayton Kershaw has been on the disabled list since June due to a back injury. The 24-year-old finished up his Triple-A season with Oklahoma City with 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 13 without a walk, in a division-clinching win.
Then Puig hit his eighth homer when he sent left-hander Friedrich’s 88 miles per hour fastball into the Dodgers’ bullpen down the left-field line.
“We’ll find out Friday”, he said.
Left-hander Brett Anderson’s rehab appearance in the same game as Kershaw did not go almost as well. He was in the midst of a historic season when he hit the shelf, as he was on his way to another sub-2.00 ERA season, and had struck out an eye-popping 145 batters against only nine walks.
Roberts said the blister on Anderson’s index finger resurfaced during the outing and his status will be re-assessed.
He returned the mound on Saturday in a rehab start for the Dodgers’ Class-A affiliate.
He never lost consciousness, team officials said.
The back-and-forth battle began when Yangervis Solarte hit his second home run of the series in the top half of the third inning.
Kershaw, who prides himself on pitching deep into games, knows he won’t be able to throw complete games in his first few starts back.
In another section of Dodger Stadium, De Leon’s parents were on the edge of their seats, having hurriedly travelled from Puerto Rico on short notice to watch their 20-year-old son’s debut in the midst of a pennant race.
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Hill (11-3) allowed one hit, struck out eight and walked two in his second start since the Dodgers acquired him from Oakland at the August 1 trade deadline. He didn’t walk a batter in his final three AAA starts and struck out at least 10 in all of those. That would be four consecutive rookie starters for the Dodgers.
