The first two games of the World Series have seen three of the best left-handers the sport has to offer in Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale and David Price. But for two of them — Kershaw and Price — the postseason has brought about mixed results.
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More so for Price, who had one save but was winless, pitched to a 5.42 ERA and allow opponents to bat .257/.311/.448 in 19 career postseason games (11 starts). He got the proverbial monkey off his back in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
In the best playoff start of his career, Price limited the Houston Astros to three hits and had nine strikeouts over six shutout innings to help send the Boston Red Sox to the World Series. He followed that by holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to two runs in six innings.
Following his Game 2 victory, Price was asked about the parallels between his and Kershaw’s postseason history. “He’ll be fine,” Price said. “He’s a Hall of Famer. He’ll be fine.”
Kershaw’s track record is a complex web that’s comprised of several reasons he’s been unable to consistently meet lofty expectations. There have been some cases where Kershaw has simply underperformed but also instances of starting on short rest, being trusted deep into games and the bullpen allowing inherited runners to score at a high rate.
The Red Sox made Kershaw labor in Game 1, and if the Dodgers are unable to come up with a win in Games 3 or 4, it may wind up his last time pitching in 2018. It would be another year of heartbreak for the three-time Cy Young Award winner, who acknowledged a significant need to win a World Series.
