Clayton Kershaw made his second start of the season on Friday night, but suffered his first loss as the Dodgers fell 6–3 to the Diamondbacks. However, during the start, Kershaw threw one of the weirdest pitches of his career.
As Gabriel Moreno stepped into the box to lead off the bottom of the fourth vs. Kershaw, the lefty began his windup, then made what appeared to be a jump throw to the plate after initially trying to stop his motion. It resulted in an 65 MPH lob that was well above the strike zone for ball one of the at bat.
Kershaw out here throwing HEAT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8Xux3CxAec
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) April 8, 2023
“What was that?” Diamondbacks announcer Steve Berthiaume asked. “Was that a jump throw? A Derek Jeter jump throw, a Tim Tebow loft it over the goal line.”
Kershaw never addressed what happened, but some fans wondered if he was trying to avoid a pitch clock violation and just got caught in between. Whatever the reasoning, the pitch ended up being a unique blip in Kershaw’s storied career.
