ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Diamondbacks lefties hit two home runs off Kershaw – how rare is this?

Apr 3, 2018, 8:47 PM | Updated: 11:11 pm

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)...

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The Diamondbacks found a way to attack Clayton Kershaw in an almost unprecedented way on Tuesday.

Off the bats of lefties.

In the second inning, second baseman Daniel Descalso hit a home run to take a 1-0 lead.

Then, the next inning, outfielder David Peralta took him yard.

That’s just the fourth time in Kershaw’s career he’s allowed two home runs to left-handed hitters in a game. It’s the first time two different lefties have hit home runs off him.

In 2010, the Nationals’ Adam Dunn did it twice. Then, in 2012, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies did the same.

The last time this happened was in 2013, when the Reds’ Jay Bruce hit a pair of dingers.

That’s not the only way this night was unusual. Only two left-handed D-backs batters had ever hit home runs against the Dodgers ace.

Dunn seemed to have Kershaw’s number as well as anyone – he was the first left-handed Diamondback to hit a homerun off him, back in 2008. It didn’t happen again for four more years, when Kelly Johnson took Kershaw yard.

Last season, the D-backs’ kryptonite was hitting left-handers. If they’re able to hit like this off the best southpaw in the game, Arizona may have found a recipe for success in 2018.

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