The close came with a fastball in the lower zone, marking the strikeout of Rafael Devers. This was the first out of the fifth inning and possibly Clayton Kershaw’s last pitch at Dodger Stadium.Kershaw, who announced his retirement at the end of the season, said goodbye with hugs from the infielders as he saw Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, come out of the dugout to take him out of his last regular season home start. Roberts, his manager for the last 10 years, shook Kershaw’s hand, hugged him, shared a few words, and then witnessed the left-handed pitcher, who is sure to enter the Hall of Fame, receive a thunderous standing ovation from the crowd.Kershaw tipped his cap to the fans, embraced his teammates in the dugout, and then went out once more for a salute.Kershaw, 37, didn’t have his best performance in this game against the San Francisco Giants. He conceded four walks, faced several prolonged at-bats, and allowed a couple of runs. However, as he has often done in recent years, he found a way to navigate the game and left his team with a chance to win.The night began with Kershaw alone on the mound. His teammates stayed in the dugout briefly, wanting to give Kershaw and the Dodgers fans a moment to themselves. Kershaw urged them to return to the field and allowed a home run by Heliot Ramos on his third pitch of the game. He threw 23 pitches in the first inning, then recovered after a walk and an error.He did something similar in the second, giving up a couple of walks with one out before inducing a couple of infield fly balls. And in the third, which featured a double by Matt Chapman and a run-scoring single by Wilmer Flores. And in the fourth, where he recovered from an initial hit. But he limited the damage.Kershaw finished the top of the fourth by striking out Willy Adames, ending a nine-pitch at-bat and raising his pitch count to 86. Roberts didn’t even look at him as he approached the dugout, wanting to give Kershaw one last batter so he could take him out mid-inning. It came in the form of Devers, one of the most dangerous hitters in the sport. Kershaw retired him with his 91st pitch, a fitting end to what could be the end of his career at Dodger Stadium.Shortly after, Kershaw celebrated as Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts hit back-to-back home runs to give the Dodgers a three-run lead in the bottom of the fifth.Kershaw is scheduled to make another regular season start next week. But given the depth and talent in the Dodgers’ rotation, his role on the team’s postseason roster is very uncertain.In an 18-year career that took place entirely in Los Angeles, Kershaw won three Cy Young awards and an MVP, accumulated 222 regular season wins, 11 behind Don Sutton for the franchise record, and has a career ERA of 2.54, which is the second-lowest among those who have pitched at least 1,500 innings in the live-ball era. His Friday start featured the presence of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, his childhood friend, and several former teammates, including Austin Barnes, Russell Martin, Jimmy Rollins, Trayce Thompson, A.J. Pollock, and Andre Ethier.Ethier was in the starting lineup when Kershaw made his Major League debut at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2008, and finished with the winning hit.Seventeen years later, he witnessed what could have been his last appearance at Dodger Stadium.
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