To Clayton Kershaw, it was more than just a pitchers’ duel.

As Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jacob deGrom traded zeroes at Globe Life Field in Texas last week, Kershaw sat in the dugout, mesmerized by what he could only describe as an exhibition in pitching excellence.

“Those two guys, that’s how it should look when you pitch,” Kershaw said a few days later. “The fluidness, the effortlessness, the way it comes out of your hand. That’s how you should throw. DeGrom and Yama are two of the best that just, like, make it look really easy.”