Kershaw, Turner turn the heat up
LOS ANGELES — No sweat, Clayton Kershaw.
Changing jerseys to beat the 39 C heat, the Dodgers ace with a checkered playoff history delivered a signature performance, pitching Los Angeles past the Houston Astros 3-1 Tuesday night in the World Series opener.
Boosted by Justin Turner’s tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Dallas Keuchel, Kershaw was in complete control against the highest-scoring team in the majors this season.
“Definitely feels good to say it was the World Series, and it feels good to say we’re 1-0,” Kershaw said.
The left-hander had waited his whole career for this moment. And once he took the mound in his Series debut, he lived up every bit to the legacy of Sandy Koufax, Orel Hershiser and the greatest of Dodgers hurlers.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 11 , gave up just three hits and walked none over seven innings, featuring a sharp breaking ball that often left Houston batters taking awkward swings. His lone blemish was a home run by Alex Bregman in the fourth that made it 1-all.
No matter, with Koufax in the house, Kershaw did his pal proud.
“He was as good as advertised,” Keuchel said.
A sweltering, pulsating crowd at Dodger Stadium dotted with Hollywood A-listers was filled with Kershaw jerseys, and he drew loud cheers all evening.
Kershaw got one more ovation when he walked through a corridor to a postgame interview. There, fans applauded a final time.
“I felt good. It’s a tough lineup over there,” Kershaw said. “The way Keuchel was throwing it was up and down a lot, which was good. It got us into a rhythm a little bit. I think for me personally, it helped out a lot.”
Brandon Morrow worked a perfect eighth and Kenley Jansen breezed through the Astros in the ninth for a save in a combined three-hitter. The Dodgers’ dominant relievers have tossed 25 straight scoreless innings this post-season.
With both aces throwing well, the opener zipped by in two hours, 28 minutes — fastest in the World Series since Game 4 in 1992 between Toronto and Atlanta. Jimmy Key and the Blue Jays won that one 2-1 in 2:21.
It certainly was unusual for this post-season, when games had been averaging three hours, 32 minutes — up 18 minutes from two years ago.
Chris Taylor gave the Dodgers an immediate jolt in their first Series game since 1988 when he hit a no-doubt home run on Keuchel’s very first pitch. Taylor was co-MVP of the NL Championship Series with Turner, and they both kept swinging away against the Astros.
“Just getting that momentum early is huge,” Kershaw said. “And let the crowd kind of feed off that. It was definitely as good a start as we could have hoped for.”
The loss left the Astros still without a single World Series win in their 56-season history. In their only other Series appearance, they were swept by the White Sox in 2005.
Game 2 is today, with AL Championship Series MVP Justin Verlander starting against Dodgers lefty Rich Hill.
Kershaw has almost every imaginable individual accolade on his resumé — five ERA titles, an MVP trophy, a no-hitter and seven all-star selections — but also was dogged by a shaky October past.
He began this outing in the twilight with a 6-7 career playoff record and an unsightly 4.40 ERA. He improved to 3-0 in four starts this post-season.
“I don’t know if you can decipher between a post-season start and a World Series start. The adrenalin, I feel like every game is so much more magnified,” Kershaw said.
A Series opener that served as a showcase for several of the game’s best young hitters — Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Cody Bellinger and more — instead was dominated by Kershaw.
“Couldn’t be happier for him,” Turner said.