Lefty legend Clayton Kershaw will make his long-awaited season debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday against the Angels, marking his return to a major league mound for the first time since August 30 of last year. The future Hall of Famer enters his 18th season with the team — tying Bill Russell and Zack Wheat for the most in franchise history — following a challenging recovery from separate surgeries on his left toe and knee.
Two Surgeries and Five Rehab Starts Later
The 37-year-old’s journey back to the mound has been anything but smooth. After undergoing two surgical procedures days after the team’s World Series parade last fall, Kershaw endured what he described as a particularly difficult rehabilitation process.
“This one was painful,” Kershaw said about his foot surgery, which addressed a ruptured plantar plate along with arthritis and a bone spur on his big toe. “It was like, ‘Oh, this is what people talk about when they talk about bad surgeries.’”
Despite these challenges, Kershaw has methodically worked his way back through five minor league rehab starts, posting a 2.57 ERA across 21 innings with 16 strikeouts and five walks. While his fastball velocity has hovered in the upper-80s, his slider remains effective, generating 15 swinging strikes on 51 pitches in his Triple-A outings.
Bolstering a Severely Depleted Rotation
What began as a welcome addition to an already stacked rotation has transformed into a critical reinforcement for a pitching staff in crisis. The Dodgers now find themselves desperately short on established starters with Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki all sidelined with shoulder injuries.
Sasaki was the most recent casualty, landing on the injured list this week with no clear timetable for return. While Glasnow and Snell have begun throwing programs, neither appears close to rejoining the rotation. Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani‘s methodical rehabilitation from elbow surgery likely pushes his pitching debut past the All-Star break.
With this decimated rotation and a schedule packed with few off days for nearly four more weeks, Kershaw’s return isn’t just ceremonial — it’s essential for a team with championship aspirations.
Chasing 3,000 Punchouts and Another Championship
For Kershaw, simply returning to the mound represents a significant milestone, but the competitor in him wants more than just participation.
“When you stop worrying about feeling bad, and you start worrying about performance, that’s when you know you’ve turned the corner,” Kershaw explained. “Now it’s just a process of figuring out how to get guys out consistently and perform.”
The three-time Cy Young winner could have walked away after last season with little left to prove. His career numbers — a 2.50 ERA, 2,968 strikeouts and 76.4 WAR – already secure his legacy as one of baseball’s all-time greats. However, watching from the sidelines as his teammates captured the 2024 World Series only strengthened his resolve to continue.
“If I was able to be part of last year’s run and win a World Series and get to go out like that, that would have been really cool,” Kershaw said. “But I wasn’t. And it was still really fun to be part of. But it made it easier to want to come back, for sure.”
Saturday’s Matchup
As he takes the mound Saturday night, Kershaw stands just 32 strikeouts away from the prestigious 3,000 career strikeout milestone. Yet his focus remains characteristically singular: helping his team win games. For a Dodgers squad navigating a pitching crisis, their longtime ace’s determination couldn’t come at a better time.
Adding an intriguing subplot to Kershaw’s return is his pitching matchup against Angels lefty Tyler Anderson, his former Dodgers teammate from the 2022 season. Anderson, who earned an All-Star selection during his lone season in Dodger Blue before signing with the Angels, knows Dodger Stadium well from his time with the club.
The duel between veteran southpaws adds another layer of familiarity to the Freeway Series rivalry, with Anderson likely appreciating better than most the significance of Kershaw’s return to the mound after such a lengthy absence.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. Los Angeles time.