For Clayton Kershaw it was almost deja vu, all over again. The three-time Cy Young award winner and MVP who had lost five straight starts in the postseason made it to the seventh inning up 3-1 in a must-win game to save the Dodgers season. And then Yoenis Cespedes lead off the inning with a single.
Mets fans went crazy. Hearts and stomachs began to seize all over LA. Was this going to happen again? Was Kershaw doomed to implode in the seventh inning in the postseason for all of history?
But Kershaw collected himself. He retired Travis d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda, and Wilmer Flores to get out of the inning. Kershaw had finally ended his postseason curse. The Dodgers held on to win and will now play Game 5 at home with Zach Grienke on the mound against Jacob deGrom on Thursday for the chance to advance to the NLCS against the Cubs.
I’m glad to see Kershaw finally get past his postseason demons. He’s a fierce competitor—and even though he has said he was not dwelling on his last October start where he got shelled by the Cardinals, you know that he is eager to prove to baseball fans that he is not a serial choker in the postseason. I thought he pitched a hell of a Game 1 and was victim of the Dodgers non-existent run support, but hopefully this will end the narrative of Kershaw being a postseason flop.
I truly believe Thursday’s game is a toss up. Greinke has been nearly unhitable this year and most likely we’ll see another great pitching duel with deGrom. I think it will ultimately come down to the bullpen where I believe the Mets have the advantage.
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter: @heylexyg
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