MLB
Kershaw Throws Gem And Silences Doubters In NLDS Game 2 Win
To anyone who says Kershaw can’t perform in the postseason watch last night’s game. Clayton Kershaw threw an absolute gem last night against the Atlanta Braves. Kershaw shut them out in 8 innings, allowing just two hits, no walks, and three strikeouts. More amazingly, he did it with only 86 pitches! Kenley Jansen came into close out the ninth. He gave up only one hit and no runs. An important outing for Jansen as well.
The one blemish in Kershaw’s otherwise stellar career is that he has not been dominant in the postseason. Going into last night’s game, Kershaw was 7-7 with a 4.35 ERA in the postseason. Many have written him off and have said that he’ll never be able to be considered in the all-time best because of his poor postseason performances. Well, last night was a step in the right direction! It was Kershaw’s longest and by far best postseason outing. He straight up dominated the Braves! Kershaw’s location was ridiculously on-point, and curves were as nasty as they come. When asked about how special last night’s win was, Kershaw sheepishly replied,
“Anytime you win a playoff game it’s special. Me of all people should know that.”
Kershaw’s hardest critic is himself, and that quote completely highlights just that. His performance last night hopefully will give him the confidence to get past whatever postseason demons he has been previously fighting.
Bats Stike Again Early
To help Kershaw out early, the Dodgers got to Anibal Sanchez. First, Joc Pederson hit a leadoff double. Which was then followed by a Manny Machado two-run bomb. Which put the Dodgers up 2-0 in the first, Machado’s homer was hit on a 3-0 count, and it was the first time in Sanchez’s career that he gave up a homer on a 3-0 count. Later, in the fifth inning, Yasmani Grandal dismounted on a ball to hit a solo dinger from the left side, his power side. This put the Dodgers up 3-0 and is where the score would stay for the rest of the game. So far this postseason out of the six home runs hit by the National League, the Dodgers has five of them.
Up Next
Tomorrow the Dodgers will travel to Atlanta and will have rookie right-handed hurler Walker Buehler on the mound, with the Braves still yet to announce their starter. Buehler ended the regular season going 8-5 with an awesome 2.62 ERA. This will be Buehler’s first postseason appearance. In his last outing, he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings vs. the Rockies in Monday’s NL West tiebreaker. Buehler also faced the Braves once in the regular season, giving up just one run over 5 1/3 innings in early June. In his last three games, Buehler has a .99 ERA, so the Dodgers are going into this one pretty confident.
Photo Credit: Ron Reiring via Flickr
