A sellout crowd begins entering the gates at 6 p.m. to see Clayton Kershaw pitch for the Lookouts against the Smokies at AT&T Field.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw struck out nine in a rehab appearance for the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Clayton Kershaw (22) starts for the Chattanooga Lookouts Thursday against the Smokies.An official Los Angeles Dodgers cap atop his head, a pricey Dodgers jacket covering his torso, Sergio Ruelas left his Marietta, Ga., home at 4:45 Wednesday afternoon bound for our town’s AT&T Field.
“I’ve been a Dodgers fan all my life,” he said upon making his way through the gates a shade after 6:30. “I was born in 1981, Fernando [Valenzuela] Mania. When this opportunity came up to watch [Clayton] Kershaw pitch, I couldn’t pass it up.”
Ruelas was far from alone in his quest to watch the lanky lefty who’s won two of the last three National League Cy Young Awards complete a second rehab assignment before returning to the big leagues next week. At least 6,317 other baseball fans couldn’t pass up the same chance.
“Oh, my, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything like this,” said a smiling Wanda Goins, who’s sold 25-cent game programs at Lookouts games for the past 27 years. “But I like to be busy.”
Twelve-year-old Davis McBryer was expected to be busy with his McCallie School homework Wednesday evening when his mother informed him at mid-afternoon he’d be attending the game with Corbin Morrison and Andrew Edwards.