Clayton Kershaw entered the 2016 playoffs well-known for his tendency to come up short in the big situations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. 2016 has changed all of that.
The baseball world was abuzz. With two of the division series being sweeps, and another being a 3-1 route by the incredible Chicago Cubs, it seemed like the drama of the playoffs was lost in 2016. The series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals changed the whole view of the playoffs. No, this was no easy series for either team. Matched so evenly player for player and pitcher for pitcher, this was a hard fought battle that ultimately led to a game 5.
The Dodgers had used Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher on the planet, in game 4 to keep their season alive. Despite the box score showing that he gave up five earned runs, Kershaw was on top of his game. He was hitting 96 mph with his fastball and fooling hitters with his curveball. Only when he was stretched simply too far to load the bases by walking Bryce Harper did things go awry. He was brought out of the game and replaced by Pedro Baez, who had pitched two full innings the day before. Baez gave up one run on a hit batter, and Avilan came in only to give up the remaining Kershaw baserunners. It was a heartbreaking way for Kershaw to see his playoff ridicule continue. In his mind, he had failed his team one more time when it mattered the most.
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Luckily for Kershaw, the Dodgers battled back for the win thanks to a Chase Utley single. Kershaw wouldn’t see any playing time in game 5, but he could be an active cheerleader hoping for another round of action in the playoffs. His partner on the pitching staff, Rich Hill, would take care of business in Washington D.C. and they would move on to Chicago. That was the plan.
In playoff baseball, things hardly ever go according to plan. Rich Hill struggled and survived just 2.2 innings despite giving up just a single earned run. With Max Scherzer on the opposing mound having his way with Dodgers hitters, Dave Roberts simply couldn’t risk riding his shaky starter on short rest for any longer. The rest of the way, the bullpen was forced to step up.
In a 1-0 game, the Dodgers were trailing and facing what seemed like an impossible task for any offense facing Max Scherzer at his best. That’s when Joc Pederson strode to the plate looking for a fastball and taking one all the way to the left field bleachers, just his second opposite field home run of the season. Suddenly, the Los Angeles Dodgers had life.
Fast forward to the ninth inning, where the Dodgers held a 4-3 lead thanks to an explosive 7th inning to get to 4-1 and subsequent bullpen problems making it 4-3. With Kenley Jansen‘s pitch count rising higher and higher after being brought in in the seventh, the Dodgers had to make a move. To the shock of every single person in the ballpark, Clayton Kershaw had been warming in the bullpen.
As Jansen got the first out, the arrival of Kershaw seemed less likely. Then Jansen, clearly gassed, walked both Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper in order to give the Nationals a good scoring chance in the bottom of the final inning. After throwing the most pitches in any career appearance, Jansen left the game. In came Clayton Kershaw, the man many had dubbed a playoff disappearing act to finish a game a la Bumgarner.
With two runners on base and less than two outs, the former MVP was battling against a possible future MVP. The baseball intensity could not be larger. That’s when Kershaw asserted his dominance. In the biggest at-bat of an intense up and down game, Kershaw was able to induce a pop out from one of the best hitters in the National League in 2016 in Daniel Murphy. That is greatness. He went on to strike out the Nationals lone remaining position player in Wilmer Difo, earning his first ever save in Major League Baseball.
Kershaw’s only other save in his professional career?
Kershaw has 1 career save - 2006 for Gulf Coast League Nats. His catcher- Kenley Jansen #Dodgers
— Liz Habib (@LizHabib) October 14, 2016
Hate the narrative all you want, but that’s pretty incredible. The only man with a save for the Dodgers this regular season was the man catching Clayton Kershaw’s only other save in his professional career. For the past six years, Kershaw has been handing the ball off to Jansen to finish games for him. Tonight, in one of the most important games the Dodgers have played in those six years, it was Jansen handing the ball off to Kershaw for the win.
Next: Baez Makes a Splash in NLDS
These are the stories that go down in baseball lore. Clayton Kershaw coming in during the 9th inning of a winner-take-all game and shutting down the opposition. Clayton Kershaw is ending any talk of him being “un-clutch” or incapable of stepping up in the big moment. These are the moments that fathers and mothers tell their children about. Watching the greatest pitcher of this generation close out an incredible meaningful game after pitching on short rest just two days earlier. It’s what makes baseball the greatest sport out there. This is what it’s all about.