The Los Angeles Dodgers have always been known for their pitching and this season is no different. Their pitching staff currently has the best earn run average in major league baseball. Josh Beckett, Zack Greinke, Dan Harren, Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryn have been outstanding so far this season.
“These guys just keep going,” said Dodger manager Don Mattingly last Monday after their 1-0 win against the Cleveland Indians. “They have been pitching great all year long. All of our guys throw strikes. They don’t throw the ball all over the place. They kind of put the ball where they want.”
It’s still too early to compare this staff with some of the great pitching staffs of the past but Clayton Kershaw is already being mentioned in the same sentence with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser. Kershaw sees it a little differently.
“We don’t label me as the ace, are anything like that,” Kershaw said. “We are all just trying to pitch, but right now we are doing well as a pitching staff.”
On Monday night the man of the hour or the pitcher of the day was Dan Harren, who pitched a one hitter against the Indians through seven innings. Dodger relievers Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen held the Indians hitless for the last two innings. The only hit Harren gave up was an infield single by Cleveland center fielded Michael Bourn.
Pitching for the Dodgers can be a pressure packed event for anyone on the mound because of the tradition associated with stepping on the mound at Dodger Stadium. For Harren the stress of being a major league pitcher comes with the position.
“I put pressure on myself every game regardless of what staff I’m on or who I am pitching against,” said Harren after his seven inning one hitter. “I have stared over 300 games and I still get nervous the night before the game.”
Right now Harren is enjoying being on the best pitching staff in major league baseball.
“The guys have really been great to me,” said Harren. “It starts from the top with Clayton. He sets a great example so I think the other starters feed off of that.
The Dodgers are currently battling the Giants for first place in the National League West and they start a six-game road trip against the Colorado Rockies today at 5 p.m.
“If we keep playing the way we have been playing we like our chances,” said Kershaw. “We try not to get a head of ourselves. Hopefully we can just keep winning games.”