BOSTON, MA — It started out pretty good on Saturday, I gotta tell you. Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández teed off on Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet in the top of the first, as the Dodger hitters staked Clayton Kershaw to a 2–0 lead. Then, things pretty much petered out after that. Crochet and the Boston pen held LA scoreless the rest of the way, and the Sox managed to scratch across four against Kershaw in a 4–2 win at Fenway.
This one will sting, not just because it’s a loss, but because the Dodgers had their chance to land a knockout punch—and didn’t. Crochet came into the game looking beatable after that rocky first, but LA let him off the hook. Despite putting runners on in five of Crochet’s six innings, the Dodgers went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and saw three would-be rallies die on the basepaths, including a Freddie Freeman out at third in the first and Teoscar Hernández caught stealing in the fifth. Those missed chances let Crochet find his rhythm, and by the time he exited after six innings and 100 pitches, he had struck out ten and walked away with his 12th win.
On the other side of the ball, this was a frustrating outing for Clayton Kershaw. He had plenty of good sequences and even got ahead in the count on a lot of hitters, but he just couldn’t finish them off. The Red Sox capitalized in the second with a walk, a double, and a triple—then again in the fifth when Roman Anthony’s RBI double gave Boston its fourth and final run. Kershaw finished with four earned runs on six hits over 4.2 innings, walking two and striking out just two. It wasn’t a disaster, but it also wasn’t the sharp, dependable Kershaw we’ve seen at times this season.
Let’s be honest: with names like Snell and Glasnow, and Ohtani inching closer to full strength, Kershaw’s spot in the postseason rotation is looking more and more like it could be in question. He’s no longer the staff ace, and on days like this—when he can’t put hitters away—it shows. Yes, October is a long way away, but it’s something to keep an eye on in the final two months of the season.
Speaking of the postseason, Sunday’s finale at Fenway will have all the makings of a surreal showdown. Walker Buehler, the Dodgers’ former playoff warrior and World Series hero, will take the mound against LA for the first time in his career. Dustin May, who hasn’t exactly nailed down his role in the rotation either, will oppose him in what feels like a pivotal outing for both pitchers. Game time is 10:35 AM PDT, and it’s one you won’t want to miss.
As for Saturday, the Dodgers had one last gasp in the 9th when Esteury Ruiz worked a walk to bring up Mookie Betts as a pinch-hitter. The former Red Sox hero Betts, returning from a leave-of-absence for personal reasons, had a chance to write the storybook ending. Instead, he watched a center-cut fastball from Aroldis Chapman sail past for strike three.
Storybook? Not this time. But there’s still one chapter left to play.
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