Kershaw and the Dodgers’ bullpen: A night to forget
Los Angeles – On a night marked by the absence of Tanner Scott, due to personal matters, and with manager Dave Roberts avoiding using his best relievers, game 3 of the National League Division Series crumbled for the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw, hoping to keep the score manageable, went up to the mound in the eighth inning. However, the result was devastating. J.T. Realmuto hit a home run, and six other batters got on base. The Philadelphia Phillies scored five additional runs, en route to an 8-2 victory that saved their season.Kershaw, who will retire at the end of the season, made his first postseason relief appearance since the decisive Game 5 of the 2019 National League Division Series. His last relief outing, after recording the final out in the top of the seventh inning, ended in despair. Kershaw’s entry in the eighth episode was a whirlwind. After left-handed relievers Anthony Banda and Jack Dreyer held the Phillies at bay, Kershaw allowed the first two batters to get on base. A spectacular catch by Teoscar Hernández saved a hit from Bryce Harper, but an error by third baseman Max Muncy, a single by Trea Turner, and a home run by Kyle Schwarber sealed the inning.“I just didn’t make enough good pitches,” Kershaw said, whose team still led the best-of-five series 2-1. “I was battling with command. It’s hard when you’re trying to throw strikes instead of getting outs. It wasn’t any fun.”
Clayton Kershaw
The Dodgers’ relievers finished the regular season ranked 21st in MLB in ERA and didn’t inspire much confidence during the final stretch. The Dodgers’ hope was to use the depth of their starting rotation to compensate for the deficiencies in their bullpen during the postseason, but that has proven to have its limits.
Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki, now used to maintain advantages at the end, have come with restrictions, particularly with regard to being used on consecutive nights. Using Sheehan or Sasaki in Game 3 meant they would likely not be available in Game 4. Tyler Glasnow was used to close the gap in Game 1, but he is the scheduled starter for Game 4 on Thursday. Scott, whose absence was not known until Roberts revealed it after the game, was not an option at all. That left Blake Treinen, who ended up pitching the ninth inning of what had basically become a rout, and Alex Vesia, another high-leverage reliever whom Roberts prefers to save for leads. Instead, Kershaw was asked to take on more than he should and struggled for it, a circumstance that has come to define his October career. Kershaw faced nine batters in the eighth inning. Three of them put the first ball in play. Against each of the other six, he fell behind in the count. Roberts said Kershaw “didn’t have a great slider tonight” and that his overall command was poor, which was probably to be expected. The only time Kershaw had come out of the bullpen in the last six years was two weeks ago, on September 24, in preparation for a role like this. This time, Kershaw said, he did everything he could to prepare as he ventured outside his usual pre-start routine, including throwing from flat ground before getting on the bullpen mound. It didn’t work, and when it became clear that it wouldn’t work, no one was there to save it. “You really don’t think about it,” Kershaw said about being left in the eighth inning. “You just try to make the next pitch. It’s really not for us to do. You just try to get people out. I wasn’t throwing strikes, and it’s hard to pitch from behind in the count.”
