Dodgers are routed by Athletics, but will get Clayton Kershaw back Saturday

<strong>Dodgers are routed by Athletics, but will get Clayton Kershaw back Saturday</strong>

By Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times on May 14, 2025

Published in Baseball

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Manager Dave Roberts continued to give Michael Conforto his chances at the plate.

The former Giant was pegged to do what he’s done his entire career: hit with power. Instead, he’s struck out 41 times and hits a whopping .153, comfortably bottom of the barrel in the Dodgers lineup.

For Chris Taylor, starts are few and far between. The Dodgers have now played 42 games. Taylor has only played in 26 and started in six.

The super utilityman played a role in eight Dodgers postseasons, bursting onto the scene in the 2017 NL pennant-winning run. He became a fan favorite, his often monotone cadence differentiating himself from his teammates. But since signing his four-year, $60-million contract before the 2022 season, Taylor has been more of a non-factor than a factor at Dodger Stadium. He’s tallied just 1.7 WAR (according to Baseball Reference) since putting pen to paper.

On Tuesday, Conforto and Taylor were the bottom-of-the-order X-factors against southpaw Jeffrey Springs and the Athletics. Taylor and Conforto combined for four extra-base hits (of eight hits) after combining for eight entering the game. Conforto doubled three time, to exit velocities of 103.7 mph, 106.1 mph and 109.5 mph.

Not that it mattered much during Tuesday’s 11-1 loss to the Athletics at Dodger Stadium.

Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman resembled much of what the bottom half has offered in 2025 — going 0-for-9 at the plate. Ohtani fouled out with a runner on second in the seventh. Betts grounded into a fielder’s choice and reached via an error on a should-have-been 6-3 putout. Freddie Freeman killed a third-inning rally by grounding into a 1-6-3 double play.

Combined with starting pitcher Landon Knack’s performance — failing to finish the fifth inning after giving up two, two-run home runs to Thousand Oaks high alumnus Jacob Wilson (career-high four RBIs) in his Dodger Stadium debut — the Dodgers (27-15) lost the first game of a nine-game home stand.

Knack, who may now be solidly in the rotation rather than making the treks back and forth to triple-A Oklahoma City after Roki Sasaki hit the injured list Tuesday with a right-shoulder impingement, struck out a career-high-tying eight batters and ended the night with five of the Athletics (22-20) runs charged to him.

The 27-year-old right-hander has yet to pitch into the sixth inning in major-league action this year. With Sasaki joining lefty Blake Snell and righty Tyler Glasnow on the injured list — both pitchers met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache to garner feedback on next steps in recovery — it’ll make Clayton Kershaw’s return Saturday even more relevant.

Kershaw will make his season debut Saturday against the Angels, manager Dave Roberts said. Kershaw tossed five minor-league rehab starts, reaching six innings once during a May 6 outing for the Arizona Complex League Dodgers in Arizona. When Kershaw debuts, it’ll be his 18th season with the Dodgers, tying Bill Russell and Zack Wheat for the franchise record for seasons played with the team.

“It’s a big shot in the arm,” Roberts said of Kershaw pregame, before Sasaki went on the injured list.

The Dodgers may now be seeking further “shots in the arm” in the weeks ahead — but will need run support as they look to even up the series Wednesday.