Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw may not be the workhorse ace he once was, but when he's on the mound he's still one of the game's top pitchers.
The 34-year-old left-hander again took a perfect game into the eighth inning on Friday night against the Angels in Anaheim.
Incredibly it was the second time this season he tossed seven perfect frames, after turning the same feat against the Twins in April. That bid ended in controversy, when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts lifted Kershaw after just 80 pitches with the perfecto still in tact.
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This time around, Kershaw was allowed to continue into eighth, where he surrendered his first hit to the Angels' Luis Rengifo on a clean double to lead off the inning. Kershaw then retired the next three batters on a pair of flyouts and a groundout to end the threat.
Kershaw probably could have gone the distance, facing just one batter over the minimum while racking up six strikeouts on an efficient 89 pitches. With the game well in hand, though, Roberts opted to preserve his aging ace. Reliever Reyes Moronta took over in the ninth, coughing up a solo homer to Brandon Marsh to spoil the shutout before finishing off the Dodgers' easy 9-1 win.
Kershaw, who was selected to his ninth All-Star Game next week, joined elite company with his latest perfecto bid, became the first pitcher since 1961 to toss at least seven perfect frames twice in the same season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The surefire future Hall of Famer has one no-hitter on his sparkling resume, coming against the Rockies in June 2014 -- and it very easily could have been a perfect game if not for a throwing error by shortstop Hanley Ramirez.
The odds may be against Kershaw achieving either a no-no or a perfecto given his recent injury history and the trend toward starters being pulled earlier in games, but with the way he's pitching right now we wouldn't bet against him.
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