Clayton Kershaw's final starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers were vintage. In his final start at Dodger Stadium – or so we thought at the time – Kershaw gave up two runs in over four innings, and was taken out of the game to a standing ovation. In what could have been his final start as a Dodger, he didn't give up a single run over five innings in Seattle, striking out seven Mariners in the process. While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could've ended Kershaw's career right there, he instead added the left-handed ace to the team's NLDS roster. In Game 3, Roberts learned why that was a mistake.
While Dodgers fans roared when Kershaw was announced as the team's next pitcher in the top of the seventh inning, that excitement made way for overwhelming anxiety when the Phillies scored five runs off the future Hall of Famer, four of them earned. That included home runs from Phillies stars JT Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber to knock Kershaw out of Game 4, his postseason ERA ballooning in front of fans who adore him.
Kershaw's teammates came to his defense postgame, but the one matter none of them commented on was why Kershaw was even in the game – or on the postseason roster – to begin with.
"It was hard to watch," Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said. "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."
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Did Dave Roberts make the wrong call with Clayton Kershaw?
Kershaw's poor relief outing was surprisingly predictable. The last time Kershaw was asked to pitch in relief in the postseason was the 2019 NLDS. In Game 5 of that series, Kershaw threw two innings, the second of which was his undoing as he gave up back-to-back home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto. Roberts managed the Dodgers at that time, just as he is now. Why, then, would he ask Kershaw to pitch a second inning under similar circumstances?
"Just didn't make enough good pitches," said Kershaw postgame. "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."
If Roberts needed Kershaw to pitch an inning in relief because his bullpen was taxed or due to the lack of available arms, that alone is understandable. Asking him to pitch a second inning when he hadn't thrown in over a week is more than just questionable – it's managerial malpractice.
Clayton Kershaw's complicated postseason history gets worse thanks to Dodgers
Roberts did not hide from Kershaw's expected role before the series. Even though Kershaw didn't make the Wild Card roster, in the Division Series, Roberts believed that the 37-year-old could provide multiple innings of relief should the Dodgers remove their starting pitcher early. In the case of Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Wednesday night, Kershaw was asked to do exactly that. However, one look at Kershaw's postseason history should've told Roberts that was a bad idea.
Kershaw has a 13-13 career postseason record, with an ERA of 4.63. That's not indicative of a Hall-of-Fame pitcher, but Kershaw has always struggled with consistency in the playoffs – and most of those appearances came in starts, rather than relief. Pitching out of the bullpen is far different than starting a game, and requires a different approach. Kershaw didn't seem ready for the challenge.
"You don't really think about that," Kershaw said. "You just try to make the next pitch. It's not really for us to do. You just try to get people out. I wasn't throwing strikes, and it's hard to pitch behind in the count."
Kershaw did everything he could to simulate his usual pregame routine in the bullpen, per ESPN. None of it was enough, and as a result Dodgers fans' final memory of their idol will be an October night that went terribly wrong all thanks to Roberts.