With few holes in Clayton Kershaw’s current resume, anyone still doubting the Dodgers ace had to reach back to his lackluster postseason results for any kind of argument.
But that was back when Kershaw was still breaking into the majors, not long after the Dodgers drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick in 2006. Since then he won the NL Cy Young Award in 2011, finished second in 2012 and is in line to win it again this year.
That’s the version of Kershaw the Braves got in Game 1 of the NLDS Thursday night at Turner Field. Kershaw limited Atlanta to three hits and a run with 12 strikeouts over seven innings of the Dodgers’ 6-1 victory.
Kershaw last pitched in the playoffs in 2009, when he made three appearances with two starts for the Dodgers. Kershaw posted the lowest ERA in the majors in each of the past three seasons, and Don Mattingly said that made it a “pretty easy decision” to send out Kershaw for Game 1.
Kershaw earned his first postseason victory in his sixth appearance. He was 0-1 with a 5.78 ERA in 15.1 previous innings in the playoffs.
“It might be the best just because it’s my first postseason win,” Kershaw said. “This one definitely has special meaning to me for sure.”
Kershaw was sharp from the start against the Braves while allowing just one hit through three innings. Still, his pitch count was piling up and it appeared the Braves might break through against him in the fourth.
Freddie Freeman hit a one-out single before Kershaw walked Evan Gattis on four pitches. When catcher Brian McCann worked a full count, fans at Turner Field sensed Kershaw might be vulnerable.
They roared when McCann smacked a 2-2 fastball deep to left. But Carl Crawford ran the ball down at the warning track and caught it against the wall.
“I didn’t realize (McCann) hit it that good,” Kershaw said. “He got a good piece of that. Carl did a great job finding the wall. He made a great play. That was obviously huge. He just kept going back and back and back and thankfully it didn’t get out of the yard.”
Chris Johnson followed with a single that scooted under the glove of diving shortstop Hanley Ramirez to score Freeman. The crowd buzzed again, but Kershaw struck out Andrelton Simmons to end the damage at a run.
That was the first of six consecutive strikeouts for Kershaw. McCann walked to leaf off the seventh inning but Kershaw got Johnson, Simmons and Elliot Johnson to swing for strike three.
Kershaw was finished after 124 pitches and fired up after he made his way to the dugout to accept high fives from teammates. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Kershaw “was probably strong enough to go back out again.”
“Postseason, so pitch count you kind of throw out the door in my opinion,” Kershaw said. “This is what you get taken out early (during) the season for, to be ready for games like this. I was planning to get through at least seven or eight (innings) the whole night. I wasn’t very efficient early or really the whole game. But I wasn’t ever thinking I was coming out, that’s for sure.”
