Kershaw also talks good game

Kershaw did little wrong on the mound, going six innings, giving up five hits (including an Albert Pujols RBI double) and two runs, striking out seven and walking one.

And he made no mistakes after the game when about a dozen writers, radio guys, bloggers, etc., pinned Kershaw against his locker for an upbeat Q&A lasting maybe 10 minutes.

He knew the right things to say: It doesn't matter that he he got a no-decision, what's important is the team won. It was awesome to have so many relatives and friends in the stands. Sandy Koufax was really helpful when they talked in spring training.

Reporters kept trying the same question, phrased half a dozen different ways, trying to make Kershaw say he was a nervous wreck out there. Were you nervous? Were the emotions different than you expected? Did striking out the first hitter help calm you down?

"Warming up, I kind of got the jitters out," Kershaw said the first time the "nervous" question was asked. "I really had a great time."

But the word "nervous" kept coming up in questions, and if it were me having to fend them off, I would eventually have blown up and shouted: What don't you people understand?! I wasn't nervous!

Kershaw never raised his voice, responded politely to everybody, offered nothing funny or controversial but projected the calm and maturity that serves him so well when he's pitching.

Since nervousness seemed to be an issue for other people more than for Kershaw, I asked if coaches and teammates had gone overboard saying soothing things to him.

" 'Just another game,' is basically what they told me," Kershaw said. "I really wasn't that nervous. I know that's hard to believe. I thought I was ready to be here."

Sounds as if he is.