Dodgers and ace Kershaw reach two-year deal Tue Feb 7, 2012 6:48pm EST (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have avoided arbitration with National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw by agreeing to a two-year, $19 million contract with the pitcher, the team said on Tuesday. The 23-year-old, who became the youngest person to win Major League Baseball's top pitching award in 26 years last November, earned $500,000 for the 2011 season and was in his first year of arbitration eligibility. "All in all, I'm excited and happy, and just glad it's over with," Kershaw said in a report on the Dodgers' website. I don't have to worry about it next year and, really, I never was worried about it. Now that it's over, I can just play ball. In 2011, Kershaw tied for the National League lead in wins (21), had the lowest earned run average (2.28) and highest strikeout total (248). He also pitched five complete games and limited opponents to a league-low .207 batting average. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto