Clayton Kershaw—season-saver.
The brilliant southpaw controlled the Los Angeles Dodgers' 3-1 victory over the New York Mets Tuesday night to tie the National League Division Series at two games apiece. He pitched seven innings and allowed a single run and three hits while striking out eight. What's more, he came back on short rest with his team facing elimination and overwhelmed the New York lineup.
Bill Plunkett of the Orange Country Register noted it was business as usual for Kershaw on short rest in October:
Keith Law of ESPN.com said it was about time to retire any concerns about Kershaw pitching in the postseason:
The Dodgers lineup struggled in eight of the nine innings, but its three-run outburst in the third was more than enough with the lefty on the mound.
The main storyline entering the game revolved around the 24-year-old Steven Matz and whether he would match pitches with the dominant Kershaw. Katz did just that through two innings, but the Dodgers struck in the top of the third.
Adrian Gonzalez drove home the game's first run with a bloop single and two runners on base. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted that the slugging first baseman was carrying the Dodgers offensively:
Justin Turner made it worse for the Mets with a two-run double in the next at-bat. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com pointed out that the former Met player was also a problem for his old team:
The early struggles from Matz were magnified by the fact he was going against the defending National League MVP and a three-time Cy Young Award winner. Kershaw didn't allow a hit through the first 3.1 innings, and Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com acknowledged coming back against the formidable southpaw was a tall task:
However, the Mets got on the board in the fourth inning with a solo home run from Daniel Murphy. Shaikin and Plunkett pointed to Kershaw's struggles against lefties in the postseason:
David Schoenfield of ESPN described the anomaly of Murphy's long ball:
Matz limited the damage to three runs in five innings, but Baseball Tonight pointed to an interesting development when it noted Jacob deGrom was warming up in the bullpen even though he is scheduled to start Game 5. However, Bartolo Colon entered instead, and Plunkett added some context to the bullpen session:
That meant the 24-year-old Matz handed the ball to the 42-year-old Colon, and Schoenfield added some context to just how long the veteran has been around:
Colon retired the side in the sixth and remained in the game to start the seventh. He wasn't the only pitcher who stayed in, as Plunkett pointed out:
Yoenis Cespedes started the bottom of the seventh with an infield single, but Kershaw worked his way out of the frame and maintained the 3-1 lead. Shaikin showed why Kershaw's ability to escape the seventh unscathed was critical:
Manager Don Mattingly removed Kershaw after seven innings and turned the ball over to Chris Hatcher in the eighth. Jimmy Traina of Fox Sports did not agree with Mattingly's decision to take out his ace after only 94 pitches with a slim 3-1 lead:
Hatcher notched two outs but walked Curtis Granderson, which brought up David Wright as the potential tying run. Closer Kenley Jansen entered the game in four-out save situation but issued a walk to Wright even though catcher A.J. Ellis insisted Wright foul-tipped a pitch on a check swing with two strikes and should have been called out.
Despite the controversy, Jansen coaxed a weak flyout from Murphy and ended the threat. Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal noted the failed rally was a problem for the Mets for more reason than one:
The Mets never threatened in the final frame, and Jansen retired the side to clinch the 3-1 victory. Just like that, the Dodgers seized all the momentum right back and forced a winner-takes-all showdown back in Los Angeles.
What's Next?
The Dodgers victory ensured there will be a decisive Game 5 in three of the four divisional series this season. The one between Los Angeles and New York will take place in Dodger Stadium Thursday and will likely pit deGrom against Zack Greinke.
DeGrom already outdueled Kershaw once in this series in Game 1 with seven shutout innings and 13 strikeouts and was excellent all season with a 2.54 ERA and sparkling 0.98 WHIP.
Greinke earned the victory in Game 2 for the Dodgers with seven innings of two-run baseball. He is the potential National League Cy Young winner and finished the season with a 1.66 ERA and an incredible 0.84 WHIP. He also had 200 strikeouts on the campaign.
The ability to hand the ball to Greinke right after Kershaw saved Los Angeles' season is one reason the Dodgers will be such a difficult out throughout the postseason if they beat the Mets. Having two shutdown aces who can pitch four games in a series puts the pressure on the opposition to take advantage of its rare opportunities.
The Mets didn't do that Tuesday and must find a way to bounce back Thursday against the dominant Greinke.
Postgame Reaction
Attention naturally turned to Kershaw’s performance on short rest after the game, even on the Mets’ sides of things. Wright said, “I don’t think anybody was going to outpitch Clayton Kershaw tonight,” per DiComo.
Wright also added, “Clayton Kershaw was just a beat tonight,” per Jesse Spector of Sporting News.
While Wright and the Mets recognized Kershaw’s greatness, the pitcher himself was asked about his historical struggles in the seventh inning of postseason games. When someone questioned what went through the southpaw’s mind when Cespedes led off the frame with an infield single, Kershaw responded, “That's really the first question I'm answering?” per Shaikin.
Kershaw also said, “There’s no curse or anything. Gotta get through the seventh,” per Shaikin.
New York was surely disappointed it failed to get to Kershaw in the seventh or throughout the game, but it must now turn its attention to Game 5. Per Rubin, deGrom said “there was no scenario where he was pitching tonight” when discussing his bullpen appearance, which means he will probably toe the rubber Thursday.
Kershaw wasn’t ready to give his team the automatic advantage with Greinke because of deGrom’s presence, per Plunkett: “It's probably dead even. As good as Zack's been all year, deGrom has been right there.”
While Greinke has the talent to pitch a complete game shutout, Mattingly said “since the Mets might be listening, yes” when asked if Kershaw could pitch from the bullpen in Game 5, per Shaikin.
Even the mere possibility of facing Greinke and Kershaw in the same game just doesn’t seem fair for the Mets.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments