Vorschau » rare bad outing for one of baseballs best pitchers

DENVER -- Clayton Kershaw turned in a clunker, a rare bad outing for one of baseballs best pitchers. After the game, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was asked a question he hardly ever hears: Whats wrong with Kershaw? "Who got the win today?" Mattingly teased. Kershaw, of course, even if he didnt have his electric stuff. The lefty surrendered a career-high 11 hits in five shaky innings and Yasiel Puig scored the go-ahead run before leaving with a strained right knee as the surging Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 10-8 on Monday. It was hardly vintage Kershaw (14-8), who struggled with his fastball command. He vowed to quickly repress this performance, not take a single thing from it. "Theres nothing to gain from pitching bad like this," said Kershaw, who gave up five runs as his ERA jumped from a league-leading 1.72 to 1.89. "Im just going to chalk this up to a bad start and enjoy getting a win I probably didnt deserve." Puig certainly had an interesting day. He was called out for interference on the bases in the first inning, hit by a pitch in the fourth and then aggravated his knee on an awkward slide into third base in the sixth. He gingerly jogged home from third on Hanley Ramirezs sacrifice fly, before being replaced in right field. Mattingly will sit Puig on Tuesday, but was planning to do so anyway. Puig said through a translator the knee has been giving him trouble for a little while now and just acted up. "Going to get treatment see how it feels," Puig said. Andre Ethier had three hits, including a two-run homer, to lift the Dodgers to their fifth straight victory. Theyre now 35-8 since the All-Star break. Jeff Manship (0-5) took the loss as he gave up three runs -- two earned -- in relief of starter Chad Bettis. The Dodgers bullpen struggled late, with Ronald Belisario allowing two runs in the eighth to cut the lead to 8-7. But he got Michael Cuddyer to hit into an inning-ending double play with the tying runner on third. Los Angeles added two insurance runs in the ninth on a run-scoring single from Juan Uribe and an RBI double from Carl Crawford. That came in handy as Kenley Jansen endured a rocky ninth, giving up a solo homer to Wilin Rosario, before picking up his 25th save in 28 chances. Kershaw had a forgettable first inning, giving up an uncharacteristic three runs. After that, he quickly settled into a groove, even helping himself out at the plate with a tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth. But the lead didnt last, with Nolan Arenado hitting an RBI double in the bottom half of the inning and later scoring Jordan Pachecos single. Kershaw came into game with opposing teams hitting just .186 off of him. The Rockies, using a makeshift lineup that didnt include Troy Tulowitzki or Todd Helton, pounded him for 11 hits. "Just be aggressive with him," Arenado said of his teams approach at the plate. "His stuff is really good. You try not to get behind in the count and we got to him pretty good." Sure did. "I didnt pitch great. They got a ton of hits. Just one of those days," said Kershaw, who was 2 for 2 with a sacrifice at the plate. "They beat me up pretty good. The team picked me up. Got a bunch of runs today. Feels good." And well-warranted, in Mattinglys opinion. "He deserved one of these as good as hes pitched," Mattingly said. "Obviously, theres nothing wrong with Clayton Kershaw." NOTES: Newly acquired Dodgers INF Michael Young could make his first start Tuesday at third base. He struck out Monday when he was called on to pinch-hit in the ninth. Young was acquired over the weekend from the Philadelphia Phillies for a minor league pitcher. ... The Dodgers plan to keep OF Matt Kemp (ankle) on a rehab assignment until he feels comfortable. "Wed all like to have him back as soon as possible," Mattingly said. ... Mattingly said RHP Edinson Volquez will start Wednesdays game against Colorado. ... Helton got the afternoon off a day after collecting his 2,500th hit, while Tulowitzki (sore legs) and Dexter Fowler (knee) also were out. ... Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez (sprained right middle finger) could soon come off the disabled list. Jorginho Jersey . The 31-year-old, a two-time CFL lineman of the year, was among the most coveted free agents on the market. The Windsor, Ont., native will be especially important to a team that has lost veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo to retirement and is expected to go with the less experienced Troy Smith and Tanner Marsh this season. Marcin Bulka Chelsea Jersey . TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. Johny Hendricks vs. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Kepa-Arrizabalaga-Jersey/ . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4. Danny Drinkwater Chelsea Jersey . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. Chelsea Jerseys . Wade is posting a short film on his website next week, with a sneak preview scheduled to come out Wednesday.PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Even without Tiger Woods around, Sergio Garcia couldnt avoid reminders of a week to forget at The Players Championship. The 17th hole is where Garcia last year lost the battle, along with the war of words. After two days of verbal sparring with Woods, the Spaniard put two balls in the water to make quadruple bogey, and he put another in the water on the 18th for good measure. Garcia already was 4 under on Thursday when he came to the par-3 17th with an island green. "It did cross my mind. Im not going to lie to you," Garcia said. "I was trying to be positive. Its a new year -- lets improve on it. I pulled it a little bit there, but it was an OK shot. I was able to do much better there, and much better on 18, so I was very happy to see that." Garcia was six shots better than the last time he played those holes. He wound up with a 5-under 67 and was four shots behind leader Martin Kaymer, a good start for a past champion who has shown he can manage his way around the Stadium Course. As for those other memories? Garcia has put those behind him. Much like his golf shots, hes looking forward. Woods won The Players last year in a tournament marked by a weekend of squabbling with Garcia -- such public feuds are rare in golf -- that ended badly a few weeks later in London when Garcia made a racially insensitive comment about Woods while trying to be funny. It started in the third round, when Garcia blamed Woods for pulling fairway metal from his bag on a par 5 to stir up the gallery just as Garcia was trying to play his shot. Video doesnt support that sequence of events, but it set off a weekend of bickering -- and Woods got the last word by winning. "I think its over. I think its passed," Garcia said. "I didnt think I was a villain, but I think that weve all moved ahead of that. I certainly have. Im just looking forward to now and hopefully whats coming soon." Garcia says he is in a happier place, and it shows. He conducted a clinic for kids on Wednesday, and he is at his best in the presence of children. He played beautifully on Thursday, losinng momentum with one bogey on his 14th hole, but no less satisfied with a 67.dddddddddddd Even so, he conceded his battle with Woods last year unsettled him. He was at an awards banquet in London when asked if he would invite Woods over to dinner during the U.S. Open. "We will serve fried chicken," Garcia replied. He apologized twice, though it didnt quell the criticism that followed him the rest of the summer. Garcia spoke of the ups and downs in his career, of trying to play good golf when he feels miserable. Garcia went into a deep funk when longtime girlfriend Morgan Leigh Norman left him. He said after a poor third round in the 2012 Masters that he did not have the game to win a major. "You go through ups and downs in your life, in your career," Garcia said. "And Ive had really, really good times; really, really happy times. And then Ive had times that were a little bit more down. I think it happens to all of us. Youve got to try to enjoy those good times as much as possible and learn from the tough ones and hopefully make them as short as possible. I think at the end of the day, thats all you can really do." He said the last four years have been "pretty good," but not always. "I dont know, probably (what) comes to mind maybe last year is when everything went on with the little problem with Tiger," he said. "I think that was tough." Lately, he is on an upward swing. Garcia won in Thailand late last year. He won in Qatar at the start of this year. He is No. 9 in the world. He is thinking positively. And it probably doesnt hurt that Woods is sidelined indefinitely while recovering from back surgery. And yes, at 34, he believes hes good enough to win a major. "I think that when Im on, I can definitely win anywhere," he said. "I think Ive proven that. Its just a matter of getting that week where you feel good, where you feel comfortable, where things go your way, where everything feels relaxed, everything feels at ease and you manage to do things the way you know how to do them. Im still waiting for that particular week." ' ' '