Despite an ugly series this weekend against the lackluster Kansas City Royals — in particular the lack of offense and ineffective pitching in the finale — the was a sliver of good news for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
The MLB named pitcher Clayton Kershaw and catcher Will Smith as All Stars, allowing them to join teammates Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, who were all voted in as National League starters on Thursday. For the fourth straight season, the Dodgers will have five or more representatives at the game and the third-highest total of players going to Seattle, behind the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers.
Kershaw, 35, will make his second consecutive and 10th overall trip to the All-Star game, which will tie him with Pee Wee Reese for most appearances in franchise history. Kershaw becomes the ninth pitcher in Major League Baseball history with double digit nods to the All-Star Game, joining Warren Spahn, Mariano Rivera, Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Whitey Ford, Randy Johnson and Juan Marichal.
In his last start on Tuesday, Kershaw earned his National League leading 10th win of the season and his 207th win of his career, which is two away from tying Don Drysdale for second all-time in franchise history. The veteran lefty threw six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two strikeouts against the Rockies.
On the season, Kershaw is 10-4 in 16 starts and holds an ERA of 2.55 with 105 strikeouts against 24 walks. In 16 seasons with Los Angeles, the left-hander has a record of 207-91 with a 2.48 ERA, 2,912 strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP.
Kershaw is currently 21st all-time on the Major League strikeout list and only needs 88 more to become the 20th player in Major League history with 3,000 strikeouts. Last season, he made his first career All-Star Game start, pitching a scoreless inning in front of his home crowd at Dodger Stadium. He has made seven Midsummer Classic appearances, and he is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA with three walks and five strikeouts.
Smith, 28, who was edged out by Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy in the Phase 2 Fan Vote, will earn his first ever All-Star Game selection as a reserve. In 61 games with the Dodgers this season, he is batting .276 with 12 homers and 41 RBI and is among leaders on the team in batting average, runs scored, hits, total bases, home runs and RBI.
Having played in the 2020 World Series and the 2023 World Baseball Classic, this All-Star nod allows Smith to add another honor to his impressive resume. Smith currently leads all NL catchers league in runs, on-base percentage while ranking among the leaders in various categories, including home runs, RBI, batting average, hits, slugging percentage and OPS. Smith leads the NL league in runs, on-base percentage.
In his five big league seasons with the Dodgers, Smith has slashed .264/.363/.501 with 72 doubles, 84 homers and 271 RBI in 419 games.
(Juan Dorado provides some information furnished in this report)