Kershaw quiets Astros in L.A.’s Game 1 win
LOS ANGELES » No sweat, Clayton Kershaw.
Changing jerseys to beat the 103-degree 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.
“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.”
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 looking foolish. His lone blemish was a home run by Alex Bregman in the fourth that made it 1-all.
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 thrown 25 straight scoreless innings this postseason.
With both aces throwing well, the opener zipped by in 2 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.
And it certainly was unusual for this postseason, with games averaging 3 hours, 32 minutes — up 18 minutes from two years ago.
A pulsating crowd that came to see the Dodgers’ first Series game since 1988 enjoyed an immediate jolt when Chris Taylor hit a nodoubt home run on Keuchel’s very first pitch. Taylor was the co-MVP of the NL Championship Series with Turner, and they both kept swinging away against the Astros.
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 Wednesday night, with AL Championship Series MVP Justin Verlander starting against Dodgers lefty Rich Hill.
Kershaw has almost every imaginable individual accolade on his resume — 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 postseason.
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.