Kershaw Continues to Come of Age in Dominating Performance

Does anybody out there still think the Dodgers don't have an ace?

If there are any of you left, we present to you one Clayton Kershaw, a precocious 22-year-old southpaw armed with a blistering fastball and a knee-buckling curve. Both weapons were on brilliant display in San Francisco Tuesday, as Kershaw threw a complete game, 1-0 shutout win against the Giants.

It was a performance reminiscent of vintage Sandy Koufax, the great Dodger pitcher with whom Kershaw has often been compared. In his heyday, Koufax -- who hurled a perfect game forty-five years and five days ago -- often carried the Dodgers on his broad back, the dominating pitcher making just one or two runs of support from his teammates an insurmountable deficit for opposing teams to overcome.

Tonight, Kershaw displayed the same type of grit and dominance.

Before 36,076 hostile fans and against a Giants team that desperately needed a win, Kershaw exerted his will throughout the contest to complete his first game, in this, the 80th start of his young big league career. He struck out four, walked none, and was never seriously threatened the entire game. Kershaw needed just 111 pitches in all. He was magnificent from start to finish, retiring the first 10 batters to start the game and ending the night with a three-pitch strikeout of Aubrey Huff.

In a year littered with unfulfilled promise for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kershaw has seen his star continue to rise. With the shutout, he lowered his ERA on the year to 2.85, to go along with a 12-10 record. He has struck out 201 in 192 1/3 innings of work, becoming the first Dodger left-hander to strike out at least 200 since Fernando Valenzuela punched out 242 in 269 innings of work in 1986.

Kershaw's lone run of support came in the top of the sixth. With one out, Reed Johnson reached first after being hit by pitch. Kershaw sacrificed Reed to second. With first base open, Zito intentionally walked the Dodgers' most dangerous offensive threat, Rafael Furcal. Andre Ethier followed with another walk to load the bases. Casey Blake then grounded a 1-1 pitch up the middle. But Giants shortstop Juan Uribe bobbled, then shuffled the ball late to second base, missing a chance for the force that would have ended the inning.

Uribe was charged with the error and the unearned run would be all the offensive support that the Dodger starter -- correction, Dodger ace -- would need tonight.