The Los Angeles Dodgers have once again reached the point where their playoff hopes in part rest on Clayton Kershaw’s shoulders. By winnings Game 4 and 5 of the National League Championship Series, the Chicago Cubs have pushed the Dodgers to the brink of elimination.
A victory in Game 6 on Saturday night will put the Cubs in their first World Series since 1945. While they have the benefit of home-field advantage, the Cubs nonetheless face a difficult task in Kershaw and if necessary, Rich Hill in Game 7.
Whereas Kershaw started Game 2 a mere two days after closing out the NL Division Series, he now takes aim at the Cubs on five days’ rest.
“It’s kind of nice. Haven’t had that in a while, so it’s good,” Kershaw said of the days off. “Should be ready to go.”
He was prepared and willing to start on short rest in Game 5, though with it not being an elimination game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts elected to stick with Kenta Maeda.
The right-hander held the Cubs to just one run, but only managed to pitch 3.2 innings. Roberts removed Maeda rather than let him face Jon Lester with two runners on.
The bullpen faltered, and now the Dodgers must win both games at Wrigley Field. That Kershaw again is in position to keep his club alive isn’t something he’s taking solace in or “excited” by.
“It will be exciting if we win, for sure,” he said. “But I think you do everything you can to try and keep it just like another start at the beginning. Then obviously the magnitude and the situation of the game kind of raises everybody’s adrenaline and things like that.”
In his first look at the Cubs in the NLCS, Kershaw turned in seven shutout innings and was backed by Kenley Jansen to help the Dodgers force an early tie in the NLCS. Kyle Hendricks was done in by allowing a solo home run to Adrian Gonzalez that proved the difference in a 1-0 game.
Hendricks will once more start opposite Kershaw. “He’s kind of like the Greg Maddux of this generation,” Kershaw said of the right-hander.
“With his ability to sink the ball, cut the ball, and put him in spots where hitters are enticed to swing at it, but you can’t put the barrel on it. He’s really good at mixing speeds, changing it up. He’s a tough guy to go against.”
Kershaw doesn’t expect either pitcher, or either team to hold much of an edge in familiarity in Game 6. “I said this the other day, but you can’t really — there’s no secrets, anyway, in the game right now. There’s so much information,” he explained.
“They know every pitch that I throw and every count and every situation. So it’s just a matter of not really focusing on that and just trying to compete every single pitch and execute every single pitch. You maybe have a little less margin for error facing them the second time, but just be better, I guess.”
In four games (three starts) this postseason, Kershaw owns a 3.72 ERA and has 25 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched.
