MINNEAPOLIS: Dodgers career appeared to be coming to an end the last time Clayton Kershaw threw in a regular season game. His stint at the club began on Wednesday with a tremendous — and almost flawless — bang.

Kershaw pitched seven flawless innings in his first start since re-signing with the Dodgers this winter before being removed from the game.

The Dodgers’ joint perfect game bid was broken an inning later when Gary Sánchez singled off reliever Alex Vesia, but they still beat the Minnesota Twins 7-0.

Kershaw struck out 13 batters in an 80-pitch season debut, dominating with a slider-heavy mix and displaying vintage form after labouring with an elbow issue last year.

Coaches for the Dodgers were unclear if Kershaw would be able to make the season-opening roster just a month ago. After re-aggravated the elbow injury and was forced to miss the playoffs, his 2021 season ended on the second to final day of the season.

Kershaw walked off the mound holding the ball tightly the day he was hurt. As a pending free agent, he disappeared into the bench, unsure if he would throw for the Dodgers again.

He not only returned in spring, but pitched “as good as I’ve seen him from day one in spring training in all my six years with him,” according to manager Dave Roberts.

And, with an overcast sky as grey as his road outfit hanging overhead, the left-hander looked as dominant as he has in his Hall of Fame career when he stood atop the mound for the 12:10 p.m. start Wednesday.

He smashed fastballs all over the zone, four-seamers that were slower than when he was at his best but still effective on either side of the plate.

He struck out 11 of the 13 batters he faced with sliders that escaped swing after swing. It was his 66th career double-digit strikeout game.

The Dodgers’ defence rarely had to work behind him for the majority of the day. In the first inning, there was a straightforward ground ball to third baseman Justin Turner, followed by pop ups to first baseman Freddie Freeman and second baseman Gavin Lux in the second and third innings, as well as a pair of sloppy fly balls to the outfield.

The Twins put eight balls in play against Kershaw, none of which had an exit velocity of at least 95 mph (MLB’s definition of a “hard-hit” baseball).

They didn’t get a hit until the seventh inning, when Gio Urshela hit a ground ball up the middle that strangely missed Kershaw and bounced off the mound, but was recovered by Lux for the last out of the inning.

Roberts had already considered yanking Kershaw out of the game at that time.

Kershaw had been held back until the fifth game of the season to give him more time to build arm strength, but even after the lockout-shortened spring, he was only stretched out to approximately 75 pitches.

So, in the top of the eighth inning, when the Dodgers got back-to-back home runs from Cody Bellinger, Lux, and Austin Barnes, doubling the three-run lead they’d created in the previous two, Roberts called to the bullpen and had Vesia warm up.

When Kershaw returned to the dugout after the seventh inning, he seemed to know what was about to happen. Kershaw bumped his teammates’ fists on the bench after shooting a grin at Lux as he walked off the field, then hugged Barnes in a short embrace.

He didn’t exhibit any signs of being upset. Even if the 34-year-old didn’t have a flawless game, he had an almost perfect day.

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