Kris Bryant hits first homer off a Clayton Kershaw curveball in more than a year

They call Clayton Kershaw’s curveball “Public Enemy No. 1” — it’s a big ol’ sweeping knee-buckler that usually baffles even the best hitters in the big leagues. So that makes what Kris Bryant did Monday night even more impressive.

The powerful Chicago Cubs rookie, hit two homers in his team’s 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first one came against Kershaw, a two-run shot in the third inning. Bryant sat back on that curveball and — just like they teach you when you’re a kid — drove it to the opposite field. The ball soared off Bryant’s bat and into the stands because, well, he’s Kris Bryant.

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This doesn’t happen very often. In fact, opponents are hitting .096 this season against Kershaw’s curve. When opponents take a hack of Public Enemy No. 1, there’s a good chance they miss. According to Brooks Baseball, opposing hitters have whiffed 47.75 percent of the time when they swing at the curve. That percentage was 37.50 in 2014 and 38.18 in 2013.

Point being: Kershaw’s curve is hard to hit. And it’s even harder to hit over the fence. As ESPN’s Baseball Tonight pointed out, Bryant’s was the first homer off a Kershaw curveball since May 11, 2014. Kershaw made 38 starts in that time. The last guy? Brandon Hicks of the San Francisco Giants.

For Bryant — who, let’s remember is all of 23 — the homer off Kershaw was something special, proven by this aww-shucks postgame quote:

Bryant HR off Kershaw:”For me its kind of surreal.I’m facing guys that I grew up and they were on my fantasy baseball team in high school.”

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) June 23, 2015