Steve Webb
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Doh! It could have been a fist-pumping moment, where the Dodgers’ legend Clayton Kershaw pitched his way out of another jam to leave the mound with the game tied at one. Instead, it was just a big, fat bummer. Third baseman Max Muncy couldn’t find the handle on an almost-sure 5-4-3 double play ball and allowed a run to score from third in the bottom of the sixth. And that was all it took to make Kershaw a loser in this one, as the Dodgers just couldn’t generate any sustained offense and fell to the Giants by a score of 2-1. Doh!
However, that E-5 aside, things went pretty well for the Boys in Blue on Saturday, as numerous boxes were checked off as the Dodgers head into October. Chief among them was the performance of Kershaw, who continues to somehow get guys out despite having severely diminished velocity.
Not sure if these 88-mile-an-hour fastballs are going to work against the Braves, but Kershaw did manage to piece together a decent start against the light-hitting Giants. Other than the Muncy error the only other damage that the Giants could muster against Kershaw was a solo shot in the bottom of the third by rookie outfielder Tyler Fitzgerald. Beyond that dinger, Kershaw gave up four other hits, none of which would come around to score.
The fateful inning was the sixth. Kershaw came out to the mound with his pitch count under control, the first time since June he’d been on the mound this late in a game. And maybe the fatigue was showing a little bit. He walked Austin Slater and Luis Matos both on five pitches, and just like that Kershaw found himself in a first-and-second-nobody-out jam. He got a weak ground ball to third from Thairo Estrada that was hit too slowly to turn a double play on. That put runners at the corners and set up the key at-bat of the night. Kershaw vs. Wilmer Flores.
Kersh got ahead 0-2, and then delivered a nice changeup that Flores hit right at third baseman Max Muncy. However, Muncy’s head got a little ahead of the rest of his body because he just didn’t field the ball cleanly. Not only did he blow the double play, he didn’t get anybody out anywhere. That ended Kershaw’s night, and with the way the Dodgers were hitting on Saturday, pretty much ended the game as well. The Dodgers had some chances to score in this one, but could only manage a 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
So that ends the 2023 campaign for Clayton Kershaw. One that was remarkable given the physical challenges that he faced and the mileage on that left arm. His final statline for the season: 13-5 with a 2.48 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP on 131.2 innings. He won’t qualify for postseason awards, but only Blake Snell has a better ERA than Kershaw. And, if you look at his performance post-IL, it is even more remarkable for the grit involved. After the ASB, even though he was not 100%, he was actually better, number-wise than he was before it, posting a 2.33 ERA compared to a pre-All-Star mark of 2.55. What a year.
“Overall there were some good things,” Kershaw said of his performance on Saturday. “Gave up a few more hard-hit balls than I would’ve wanted to. Obviously you can’t walk the first two guys that last inning there. There’s some things I’d like to take back. But overall, I feel actually pretty good. So I’m in a good spot going into the playoffs.”
Good thing this wasn’t the last game given the bummer of an outcome. It would have been hard to sit with this one in your memory for a whole week. Instead, the Dodgers get one last shot at 100 wins. Freddie gets one last shot at 30 homers and 60 doubles. And Mookie gets one last shot at 40 home runs. And it all happens at noon on Sunday. Bobby Miller gets the ball for the Dodgers, hoping to pitch the Dodgers into the postseason on a good note. Let’s go!
