Clayton Kershaw was celebrated in his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium and is poised to take the mound again on Sunday, but sandwiched between those two outings was a relief appearance on Wednesday.
Kershaw spent Tuesday’s game in the bullpen, but was not among the four relief pitchers the Dodgers turned to after receiving a dominant performance from Shohei Ohtani in his longest start of the season. The end result was the Dodgers’ 11th walk-off loss season, which is tied for most in the National League.
Despite having put together a Hall of Fame career as one of the best starters in MLB history, Kershaw’s postseason role this year is hardly settled. But indications are it would have to come as a relief pitcher.
He was successful in a first attempt, throwing a scoreless ninth inning to help the Dodgers avoid another walk-off loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I have no hesitation pitching him in any situation tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game.
The relief appearance was Kershaw’s first since 2019. That year he pitched out of the bullpen as the regular season was winding to a close, and did so again in the NL Division Series, though that appearance went wayward in the Dodgers’ elimination loss.
Although it’s likely any contributions from Kershaw in October will come as a relief pitcher, entering out of the bullpen against the Diamondbacks was not viewed as a trial run of sorts.
“It wasn’t really the plan for me to begin with, but I didn’t want to sit here for nine days. I had a lot of time off, and throwing one inning will help me get ready for Sunday,” Kershaw explained. “If I can help out, it’s great.”
He reiterated the focus is on helping the Dodgers come the playoffs in any capacity.
“I can do the math,” Kershaw said, alluding to the Dodgers’ surplus of starting pitchers. The team is likely to shift Emmet Sheehan to a bullpen role as well.
“It’s an adrenaline rush, for sure. Relieving is a different animal altogether. You kind of have to figure out how to maintain your heartbeat and get going. But it is a lot of fun and it’s fun to have success out there,” Kershaw added.
Dodgers trust Clayton Kershaw out of bullpen
Kershaw’s history as a reliever in the playoffs has produced mixed results, but the Dodgers won’t hesitate to rely on him in that role.
“I think he’s earned the right and is open to it. Just kind of where we’re at, we’ve got to get the best guys to get outs. So if Clayton is viable — and he is viable — then we’re going to use him,” Roberts said.
“That’s just kind of where we’re at. We’ve had almost six months to kind of make decisions and see how things go. We’re going to need certain guys, but guys have got to do their jobs. Got to do your job. I can’t put it anymore nice.”
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