Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw proves too much for Angels

The contrast of the two pitchers who shared the mound at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night could not have been more stark.

It was painfully obvious to Jered Weaver, the Angels veteran now pitching on fumes, when he stepped into the batter’s box against Clayton Kershaw.

“It would be fun to go out there with his (stuff),” Weaver said. “That’s for sure.”

Kershaw was dominating, yet again, striking out 11 Angels in eight iings. He got all the support he needed from two Joc Pederson homers in the Dodgers’ 5-1 victory, snapping the Angels’ four-game wiing streak.

Kershaw extended his streak to six straight games with double-digit strikeouts, two shy of the major league record.

Afterward, Kershaw shrugged off the performance: “Nothing like stood out, but nothing was bad either. It was kind of all average today. Maybe a little bit better fastball command. Just kind of all average today.”

The Angels scored just one against Kershaw in the second iing, and it only seemed to irritate him, as he mowed them down without much trouble for the rest of the night.

Kershaw retired 17 of the last 18 hitters he faced. Over the six games in the streak, he has 68 strikeouts in 48 iings, with a 1.69 ERA.

“He had all his stuff tonight,” Mike Trout said. “When you get a pitch to hit, you can’t miss it. I was missing some pitches I should hit.”

Then, there was Weaver, who no longer can do what Kershaw does. At his best, he wasn’t as good as Kershaw as now. And now, he’s left to try to finesse his way around a lineup with 85 mph fastballs – on a good day – and curveballs and changeups.

Once through, he can do it.

Weaver allowed just one hit the first time through the Dodgers order, and just one uneaed run in the first three iings. That scored after Trout dropped a fly ball, his first error with his glove since Sept. 24, 2014.

“I got to the wall and I thought I was going to have to jump,” Trout said. “Then I realized I didn’t have to and took my eye off it. It shouldn’t happen.”

Although that was a catchable ball, it was also hit nearly 400 feet, one of many rockets the Dodgers hit against Weaver as they got more looks at him.

Pederson hit a misplaced fastball out for a two-run homer in the fourth, and Corey Seager hit one out in the seventh.

It’s been the trend this year.

The first time through the order, Weaver has been able to hold opponents to a .227 average. After that, though, once the hitters have adjusted to him, they have hit .382.

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“There have been signs of throwing some good pitches, but I just can’t repeat them I’d like to,” Weaver said. “The last thing I’m going to do is quit on this team… A lot of other people would shut it down, but that’s not who I am. I know I’m on the right track. It’s just a matter of time before I can throw the ball the way I want to.”