Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dodgers ‘like where we’re at’
Los Angeles return guaranteed after Game 4 victory
HOUSTON — After the hearty handshakes and hugs were finished in the middle of the diamond, Clayton Kershaw still had work to do.
So while his teammates cleared the field after a dynamic World Series win Saturday night, Kershaw trotted away and climbed atop the mound.
All alone, holding a ball in his bare hands and wearing a hoodie, the Dodgers ace went into the stretch. He looked toward home plate, then at second base, then did a half-leg lift.
Game 4 had just ended, and already Kershaw was set to deliver in Game 5.
Kershaw got an early start on Sunday night’s matchup at Minute Maid Park, where he faced Astros star Dallas Keuchel with the Series tied at two games apiece. It was a rematch of Game 1, when Kershaw outpitched Keuchel in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win.
“I like where we’re at,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. “Up to this point there’s been so many emotional swings, and we’re dead even right now.
“It’s a three-game series, and we’ve got our ace going (Sunday). So I know that in our clubhouse we feel good.”
Down in the late innings Saturday, the Dodgers rallied to beat the Astros 6-2. Kershaw turned from heady pitcher to head cheerleader, shouting from the top of the dugout steps when Cody Bellinger hit a go-ahead double in the ninth.
“They’re two pretty good teams — I don’t think that’s overstating anything,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “So it probably doesn’t surprise a ton of people that it’s 2-2. How the games have gone, where we’ve won or where they’ve won can always be debated.”
Keuchel figured he already had one advantage for his Game 5 start — warming up, he was able to spot his catcher.
It was 103 degrees at Dodger Stadium for the first pitch in the opener. Keuchel felt the heat while he threw to catcher Brian McCann before the game.
“I had never been at Dodger Stadium for a 5 (p.m.) game before,” Keuchel said. “(I) couldn’t even see McCann or the plate (while) warming up. Physically, I felt great. The only thing that bothered me was the sun — it was literally in my face in the bullpen.”
While Keuchel loosened up in the sun, Kershaw was in the shade. With the retractable roof closed at Minute Maid Park, the elements weren’t an issue before Game 5.
Kershaw was in total control when they met Tuesday night. He threw seven shutout innings, giving up three hits while striking out 11 without a walk while improving to 3-0 this October.
Keuchel kept it close in the matchup of Cy Young Award-winning lefties. He pitched 6 innings and allowed three runs, giving up home runs to Justin Turner and Chris Taylor.
In the open air, the crowd was loud at Dodger Stadium. At Minute Maid, the sound is amplified indoors.
“It’s always more than I expect,” Keuchel said. “In my head it’s one way, but then it’s actually better each and every time. RESULTS, SCHEDULE All games at 8 p.m. on FOX Dodgers 3, Astros 1 Astros 7, Dodgers 6 (11) Astros 5, Dodgers 3 Dodgers 6, Astros 2 Sunday at Astros, late Tuesday at Dodgers Wednesday at Dodgers