KERSHAW LIKE A CHAINSAW
Dodgers ace fans 11, cuts down Astros in Series opener
LOS ANGELES — No sweat, Clayton Kershaw.
Changing jerseys to beat the 103- degree heat, the ace left- hander — who entered the game 6- 7 with a 4.40 ERA in his postseason career— delivered a signature performance to pitch the Dodgers past the Astros 3- 1 in the World Series opener Tuesday.
Boosted by Justin Turner’s tiebreaking two- run home run in the sixth inning against 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,’’ Kershawsaid.
Kershaw had waited his whole career for this moment. And once he took the mound in his Series debut, he lived up to the legacies of Sandy Koufax, Orel Hershiser and the greatest of Dodgers hurlers.
Kershaw, a three- time National League Cy Young Award winner, allowed three hits, struck out 11 and walked none in seven innings. The lone run against him was a homer by Alex Bregman that tied the score 1- 1 in the fourth.
‘‘ He was as good as advertised,’’ Keuchel said.
A sweltering, pulsating crowd at Dodger Stadium was filled with Kershaw jerseys, and he drew loud cheers all evening.
‘‘ I felt good,’’ Kershaw said. ‘‘ It’s a tough lineup over there. 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, it helped out a lot.’’
Brandon Morrow worked a perfect eighth, and Kenley Jansen breezed through the Astros in the ninth for the save. Dodgers relievers have thrown 25 consecutive scoreless innings this postseason.
With both pitchers throwing well, the opener zipped by in 2 hours, 28 minutes. It was the fastest World Series game since Game 4 in 1992 between the Blue Jays and Braves ( 2: 21). It certainly was unusual for this postseason, when games had been averaging 3 hours, 32 minutes.
Chris Taylor gave the Dodgers an immediate jolt in their first Series game since 1988 when he hit a no- doubt homer on Keuchel’s first pitch. Taylor was the co- most valuable player of the NL Championship Series with Turner, and they both kept swinging away.
‘‘ 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.’’
Kershaw has almost every imaginable individual accolade on his résumé — five ERA titles, an MVP trophy, a no- hitter and seven All-Star selections — but also was dogged by a shaky October past. He improved to 3- 0 in four starts this postseason.
‘‘ I don’t know if you can decipher between a postseason start and a World Series start,’’ Kershaw said. ‘‘ The adrenaline — I feel like every game is so much more magnified.’’
Facing a team that had the fewest strikeouts in the majors in 2017, Kershaw fanned more Astros than any starter this season. And he helped the Dodgers, who led the majors with 104 regular- season victories, improve to 8- 1 this postseason.
‘‘ Tonight is about Kershaw,’’ Astros manager A. J. Hinch said.
The score was tied 1- 1 when Taylor drew a two- out walk in the sixth. Turner followed with his goahead drive against Keuchel.
‘‘ Keuchel was really good tonight,’’ Hinch said. ‘‘ He was just a pitch or two less than Kershaw.’’