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The Los Angeles Dodgers were happy to see franchise icon Clayton Kershaw return to the mound, though the results weren’t what they have grown accustomed to.
After his season was cut short due to lower-body injuries last year, Kershaw made his debut during the team’s Freeway Series with the Los Angeles Angels. But he wasn’t able to recapture his vintage form, giving up five earned runs in just four innings.
“Obviously, I wanted to pitch better,” Kershaw said after the game, per MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. “I need to pitch better going forward.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner will get a chance to improve this season as the Dodgers struggle to field healthy starters. But after signing a one-season deal to return to the team this year, it’s unclear what next year might have in store for him.
Speaking to MLB Network shortly before his debut start, Kershaw was asked if it was important to him to end his career in a Dodgers uniform. In response, he admitted he’s had a change in perspective about ever playing for another team.
“I think if you asked me that three or four years ago, I would have said maybe not. But now, yes,” Kershaw said. “Being a Dodger for this long, there’s a lot of gratitude on my end.”
Kershaw established himself as the franchise ace for the Dodgers in 2014, when he signed a seven-year, $215 million deal. He then took a three-year contract to stay in 2018 and has agreed to one- or two-year pacts since then.
As he looks to fight past a rough start to his 18th season with the team, it seems more definite than ever that Kershaw will be hanging up his cleats as a lifetime Dodger, whenever he gets to that point.
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