It is no secret that Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw has struggled at times during the postseason, and that was again the case on Friday night in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers staked Kershaw an early 1-0 lead on a home run by Manny Machado, but he was not able to hold onto it as he lasted just three-plus innings, allowing six hits and five runs (four earned) while striking out and walking two in the 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The outing was Kershaw’s shortest of his career in the postseason. The Dodgers’ defense certainly didn’t help matters, committing three errors in addition to two passed balls by catcher Yasmani Grandal.
Kershaw did not blame his defense though, taking responsibility for the loss, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“It was a tough one. Obviously you don’t want to get your team off to that start but it happened and we’ll try to get a win tomorrow.”
Kershaw also discussed what goes through his mind when he is struggling and nothing seems to be going right on the mound:
“My whole thought process is just the next pitch. You can’t think about the big picture, you just have to continually think about making that next pitch over and over and over again and the results sometimes are out of control, but sometimes you just got to continue to make pitches.”
Barring a sweep, Kershaw will have another chance to redeem himself in this series as he is penciled in to start Game 5 back at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers have won nine of the last 12 postseason games that he has started, but the losses always seem to be more magnified, and rightfully so when they are on the biggest stage in the postseason.
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