Clayton Kershaw’s first appearance this postseason turned into a disaster, as the future Hall of Famer allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits over two innings pitching out of the bullpen in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-2 loss to the Philadelphia Philles in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Kershaw summed up his outing in succinct fashion.
“Just didn’t make enough good pitches,” said Kershaw. “I was battling command. It’s hard when you’re trying to throw strikes as opposed to getting people out. Just wasn’t a fun thing.”
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts admitted after the game it was “hard to watch” everything that happened to Kershaw in the decisive eighth inning:
“It was hard to watch. But we can’t use two innings to—he’s going to have a statue out in front of Dodger Stadium. Kind of keep that in mind and understand that, in the grand scheme of things, Kershaw is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever do it. So if you let two innings kind of ruin that, you don’t know baseball.”
The Dodgers were trailing 3-1 when Kershaw came into the game to start the seventh inning. His first inning wasn’t exactly smooth with a single and walk allowed to the first two batters he faced, but he escaped it without giving up a run.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts rolled the dice by letting Kershaw, who last pitched on Sept. 28, go out for a second inning of work. Things fell apart right away with J.T. Realmuto leading off the eighth with a homer, followed by a walk, an error by third baseman Max Muncy, a sacrifice bun, RBI single from Trea Turner and a two-run homer by Kyle Schwarber.
After the next two hitters also got hits, Kershaw finally got out of the inning when Brandon Marsh flew out to deep center. The score was 8-1 by the time his night ended.
This was Kershaw’s second consecutive postseason appearance in which he didn’t record a strikeout. He allowed six runs and recorded just one out in a Game 1 start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLDS.
Kershaw’s ERA pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason now sits at 6.75 with nine earned runs allowed in 12 innings over eight games dating back to 2008. Wednesday was his first relief appearance in the playoffs since Game 5 of the 2019 NLCS against the Washington Nationals.
Even though Kershaw was included on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster after not being included on the wild card roster, it wasn’t clear if he would appear in a game.
Roberts told reporters prior to Game 2 on Monday that there were “scenarios” to use the veteran left-hander, including late-inning or extra-inning situations, but he also said there are other pitchers on the roster “I feel we’re more comfortable with.”
It may have been unfair for Roberts to try squeezing a second inning out of Kershaw after he escaped his first frame without allowing a run. The results went about as bad as they possibly could have in the eighth, turning a still-competitive game into a blowout and giving the Phillies life in the series.
The Dodgers still have another home game on Thursday to try closing out the NLDS. They will send Tyler Glasnow to the mound against Cristopher Sánchez looking to secure their second consecutive trip to the National League Championship Series.
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