Game 1 of the World Series did not go as planned for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they fell to the Boston Red Sox, 8-4, at Fenway Park.
The pitching matchup was a great one with two of the best left-handers in the game in Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale starting for their respective teams. It only ended up being great on paper though as neither starter was able to so much as record an out in the fifth inning.
Kershaw struggled from the get-go, giving up two runs in the first inning to allow Boston to take an early lead. Overall, he pitched four-plus innings, allowing seven hits and five runs while striking out five and walking three.
Two of the runs scored after Kershaw left the game in the fifth. With temperatures in the low 50’s, it was one of the coldest games that Kershaw pitched in his career.
He did not use that as an excuse for his poor outing though, via SportsNet LA:
“I didn’t pitch very well, but I don’t think the weather had anything to do with it.”
Kershaw’s slider has developed into his best pitch over the last few years but in Game 1 the Red Sox were able to get to it. Instead of blaming the weather, Kershaw shifted the focus onto what he felt was a subpar slider:
“The slider was not very good tonight. It didn’t have the depth there, kind of flat and in the zone and yeah, they made me pay for it.”
The Dodgers had some defensive miscues that certainly didn’t help out Kershaw. But for the Dodgers’ ace, the story remains the same in regards to his inconsistency in the postseason.
Barring a sweep in the series, Kershaw will get another chance to redeem himself in Game 5 when the World Series is at Dodger Stadium, where he has been dominant in two starts this postseason allowing just one run in 15 innings.
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