Clayton Kershaw gets humbled after Brewers star rookie's dominant outing vs Dodgers

Time to brush up on your baseball, Kersh!
Los Angeles Dodgers v Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers v Milwaukee Brewers | Patrick McDermott/GettyImages

When asked how he felt about being matched up against Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski in the second game of their series against the Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw was dismissive, which felt a bit uncharacteristic.

He said, "I don't even know who I'm pitching against. [He's] that the guy who twisted his ankle on the mound. The 'Twisted-His-Ankle' guy. I know he throws hard. I saw a couple highlights. He throws hard. But so does everybody. Except me."

Sure, Kershaw was a little self-deprecating at the end, but it was perhaps a little too dismissive of a guy who was just called up less than a month ago and has already out-dueled Paul Skenes, Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan.

Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a solo homer, but it was the only run the Dodgers would score through nine innings. Misiorowski absolutely dominated, racking up 12 strikeouts (including at least one on everyone in the Dodgers' lineup except Miguel Rojas) while throwing 21 pitches over 100 MPH and inducing 21 whiffs.

After the game, Kershaw (who gave up two runs) had to concede. He said, "I know him now, huh? Super impressive. That was unbelievable ... I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That's just really tough."

Brewers-Dodgers gave Clayton Kershaw a front-row seat to rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski's dominance

Misiorowski — who was just six years old when Kershaw made his MLB debut — was humble about the win, and said that he has "all the respect in the world" for Kershaw. He added, "I saw something online that he doesn't know who I was. So I hope that he knows me now. It's kind of cool."

Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez also heaped praise on Misiorowski after the performance, tweeting, "Jacob Misiorowski is special. He's got velocity, movement, and that bulldog mentality. Him, Paul Skenes, and Tarik Skubal look like the future of pitching to me."

The Dodgers' loss to the Brewers marked their fifth straight L, but they're hopeful Tyler Glasnow's Wednesday return after a months-long absence will help them get back to fighting form. The Brewers are mired in a perpetual state of good but never good enough, but guys like Misiorowski and Jackson Chourio could suggest that the future is a little brighter in Milwaukee.

Kershaw might finally have his 3,000 Ks, but there's a whole new generation of young pitchers taking over the game. He put up his own admirable start against the Brewers on Tuesday, but even he had to admit that nothing could be done against one of the upcoming faces of that generation.