Clayton Kershaw backs Dave Roberts’ decision to remove him from perfect game

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw stood by manager Dave Roberts after he took him off the mound in the middle of a perfect game bid.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came under attack, again, for pulling a pitcher from a perfect game but Clayton Kershaw refused to add any more fuel to the fire.

On Wednesday, Kershaw pitched seven perfect innings before the manager replaced him to start the eighth. He had already thrown 80 pitches and was supposed to be on a pitch count.

Kershaw called the move, “the right decision,” according to David Vassegh of Dodger Talk.

“As much as I would have wanted to do it, I’ve thown 75 pitches in a sim game. … I would have loved to stay, but bigger things,” Kershaw said, per Jon Weisman. “I knew going in my pitch count wasn’t going to be 100 let alone 90. It’s a hard thing to do, coming out of a game like that, but like I said, we’re here to win, and this is the right choice.”

Roberts also pulled Rich Hill from a perfect game in 2016.

Clayton Kershaw backed Dave Roberts’ decision to pull him from perfect game

There’s some reasonable push and pull here.

No question Kershaw will have wanted the chance to complete a perfect game. An opportunity like that comes around so rarely, it was a shame to let it pass.

At the same time, Roberts’ job isn’t to ensure his players’ individual accolades. It’s to win games, make the playoffs and win a World Series. A manager needs to be able to take the emotion out of it.

Would it have been an incredible moment for Kershaw to throw a perfect game? Absolutely. Could chasing that moment put the pitcher at heightened injury risk, potentially harming the Dodgers’ season as a whole? Yes.

Kershaw’s injury history — he missed the 2021 postseason with an elbow injury and he has been able to start 30 games in a season since 2015 — had to factor into it.

That’s the calculation Roberts made. Kershaw seems to recognize that, whether or not he agrees in his heart of hearts.

Alex Vesia gave up a single to the second batter he faced in relief but the Dodgers locked in a 7-0 victory.