Kershaw Ks 11 as Dodgers capture Game 1
LA’s ace in prime form as Taylor, Turner both homer to provide all the support needed to top Astros
Finally. The World Series returned to Dodger Stadium – and so did Clayton Kershaw.
Oh sure, Kershaw had made nine starts since recovering from this year’s back injury. Some of them were pretty good. None of them were great. Until Tuesday night. Kershaw returned to dominant, overpowering mode, holding the Houston Astros to three hits in seven innings. Justin Turner’s two-run home run in the sixth inning gave him the lead he needed and sent the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the World Series.
“Kersh is the best,” Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager said. “It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. He’s the best. I think he proved that tonight.”
This was certainly Kershaw at his best. The game-time temperature was a sizzling 103 degrees (a World Series record) and was still 91 when the game ended. But it was Kershaw who was most stifling.
The Astros’ lineup was historically productive during the regular season, leading the majors in nearly every statistical category – and striking out fewer times than any team in baseball while doing it.
But Kershaw struck out 11 of them (one short of his postseason high) without walking a batter. It was the most strikeouts in a World Series game since Randy Johnson struck out 11 Yankees in Game 2 of the 2001 World Series.
It was only the second time in World Series history a pitcher had struck out as many as 11 without walking a batter (Don Newcombe did it for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 1 of the 1949 World Series) and the first time a pitcher has done it while allowing as few as three hits.
“Tonight was one of those nights – I think the first time in a while – where we’ve seen all three of his pitches synced up,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He just was repeating the delivery, held the velocity, was throwing the baseball where he needed to, where he wanted to. “This was a special night for Clayton.” It was, as Roberts said, the first one in quite some time.
In his first nine starts since returning from a back injury, Kershaw had a 3.53 ERA and 1.14 WHIP – good but not... Kershaw.
“Close but not all the way there,” Dodgers right-hander Brandon McCarthy acknowledged. “Tonight was the genuine article.”
Kershaw’s fastball returned when he recovered from the back injury. But his slider took a while to return. It regained its lethal bite Tuesday night.
“His slider was why. It was his good Kershaw slider,” Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes said. “Obviously that’s his pitch. Everybody knows it. It feels good when he’s attacking with his fastball and then putting guys away with his slider.”
Kershaw rarely strayed from the strike zone. He threw just 15 pitches outside the zone to the first 17 batters he faced, keeping his pitch count down. He threw 10 or fewer in four of his seven innings -- and plowed through that seventh inning without any of the assault and battery that has befallen him in previous October sevenths.
Fresher than he has been in Octobers past, the only damage the Astros could inflict on Kershaw came in the fourth inning when Alex Bregman led off with a home run.
“I don’t see anything different. Clayton is Clayton,” Dodgers outfielder Kike’ Hernandez said. “You guys say he hasn’t been the same but we see the same guy. He’s still Clayton Kershaw. He’s still the best in the game.”
Bregman’s homer matched a leadoff home run by Chris Taylor – on the first pitch thrown to a Dodgers batter in a World Series since 1988.
Keuchel recovered from that and sailed into the sixth inning. The Dodgers’ postseason strategy of draining the life out of opposing starting pitchers didn’t seem to be working on him. He threw only 54 pitches to get there, getting the Dodgers to hit into three double plays and nine outs on the ground in all.
Two more ground outs started the sixth inning but Taylor squeezed a five-pitch walk out of Keuchel. Turner followed and fell behind 1-and-2. The second strike called by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi prompted Turner to step back and lean in close to discuss the strike zone with the umpire. He was not the first to question Cuzzi’s strike zone on the night.
“You can’t gripe about it too long or you’re going to be walking back to the dugout,” Turner said.
The next pitch was a cut fastball that stayed high in the zone and was hit high into the overheated air, carrying just over the wall in left field for Turner’s fourth home run of this postseason. Only one Dodger in history has hit more home runs in a single postseason – noted slugger Davey Lopes had five in 1978.
“I didn’t know if it was going to be a home run or not,” Turner said. “I knew I back-spun it pretty good. I knew I hit it really high. And I knew it was about 98 degrees. When it’s that hot here, the ball does travel a lot better.
“If it’s 10 degrees cooler, that’s probably a routine fly ball in left field.”
Turner has been among the hottest things going in October. He has reached base in all nine postseason games this fall and has a career postseason average of .363 that ranks with the all-time greats. He has driven in 14 runs this postseason (a Dodgers record) and 26 in his career. That ties Duke Snider for the most postseason RBI in Dodgers history.
(Orange County Register/TNS)