Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw On New Extra-Inning Rule: 'It's Not Real Baseball'
(CBSLA)- The Los Angeles Dodgers won another extra inning game on Wednesday night, taking down the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 in 10 innings. The victory improved the team's record to 5-1 in extra-inning affairs this season. But, there's one team member that isn't a big fan of how the league is handling extra-innings this season.
"It's not real baseball," Kershaw told reporters Wednesday. "But it's fine for this year, and I hope we never do it again."
The rule that Kershaw is complaining about was instituted this year and puts a runner on second base to start each extra-inning. The goal, in theory, is to decrease the length of games by putting a runner in scoring position immediately and thereby making it easier to score and possibly get a win.
Kershaw got the start on Wednesday, going just five innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits. While Kershaw isn't a fan of the new rule, his manager, Dave Roberts told reporters that he has been impressed with how the rule has been implemented and altered game strategy.
"I didn't know how it was going to play out and how it was going to be received, but as we've had some runs with it, I really like it. I think it really shortens the game. It adds strategy for the fans, the managers, the players," said Roberts. "I think it's playing out pretty well, and our guys have done a really good job in the situation. I like it permanently. I don't like it for the postseason."
The league stated in July that the extra-innings rule would only be in place for the regular season so, Roberts gets his wish on that front. After Wednesday night's win, the Dodgers have improved to a league-best 32-12 and are 4.5 games up on the Padres in the NL West division.
