Dodgers end 32-year World Series drought. Dallas’ Clayton Kershaw wins his first.
When last we had heard from Clayton Kershaw, the Dallas native was trying to not get too far ahead of himself.
That was Sunday, after he pitched the Dodgers to a Game 5 victory that put them within one win of their first World Series title since 1988. It would be his first, having spent all 13 seasons of his career in Dodger blue.
Kershaw has been close to baseball’s ultimate prize but not as close as he was Tuesday, when the Dodgers took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series into Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
So, on Sunday night, Kershaw didn’t want his mind to travel to what it might feel like to, at long last, be a world champion. He said he would try to avoid daydreaming Monday during an off day.
When we first saw Kershaw on Tuesday at Globe LIfe Field, each pitch and swing had his attention. So did one particular managerial decision.
They would either take him to euphoria or Game 7 on Wednesday.
Around 11 p.m. Tuesday, it was time for Kershaw to go crazy, and no Dodgers player deserved a championship more.
Los Angeles scored twice in the sixth inning following a controversial decision by Rays manager Kevin Cash to pull starter Blake Snell, and the Dodgers’ bullpen hung on for a 3-1 series-clinching victory.
“I can’t put it in words yet,” Kershaw said. “The people that are just happy for me, it’s overwhelming just to see the support. I’m so thankful for everybody who’s reached out and everybody who’s make this possible.”
The Rays led the win-or-go-home game 1-0 after five innings, riding a first-inning homer by Randy Arozarena and five one-hit innings from Snell on only 69 pitches.
He returned for the sixth, and retired No. 8 hitter A.J. Pollock before allowing a single to Austin Barnes. Cash immediately came from the dugout and quickly went to the bullpen, fearing what the Dodgers might do to Snell the third time through the lineup and ignoring what everyone at Globe Life Field and at home on TV had seen.
Mookie Betts immediately stroked a double off reliever Nick Anderson, who uncorked a wild pitch to allow Barnes to score. Betts scored next, racing home ahead of a throw on Corey Seager’s slow grounder.
Betts homered in the eighth for a key piece of insurance for Julio Urias, who recorded the final seven outs.
Kershaw took care of the Rays in two starts, going a 2-0 record, 14 strikeouts and a 2.21 ERA. That’s MVP-caliber stuff, though the series MVP was Corey Seager.
But for all his regular-season excellence, which includes three Cy Young awards and an MVP, Kershaw has struggled in the postseason.
He entered October at 9-11 with a 4.43 ERA. He had been at his worst in the World Series, going 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA and was riding a three-game World Series losing streak before earning the win in Game 1.
Kershaw excelled in five playoff starts this year, going 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 37 strikeouts against only five walks. He became the all-time leader in postseason strikeouts (207).
He posted a 2.16 ERA in the regular season and is 175-76 with a 2.43 ERA in his career.
Any questions?
“I don’t care about legacy. I don’t care what happened last year. I don’t care what people think. I don’t care at all, man,” Kershaw said. “We won the World Series. The 2020 Dodgers won the World Series. Who cares about that other stuff? All that other stuff is just pointless. It doesn’t matter. We won. It’s great.”
The one thing that was missing from his Hall of Fame resume, though, was a World Series ring. After all that has been said and written about his postseason problems, not to mention that Dodgers’ 32-year drought, he was ready to do whatever it would take to bring a title home.
He did his heavy lifting in Games 1 and 5. Because of it, he’s now a world champion.
“I’m happy that when people talk about him that it’s world champion first and then future Hall of Famer,” manager Dave Roberts said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 10:41 PM.
