In his first go-around with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason, manager Dave Roberts faced the same dilemmas as his predecessors. First, was whether to start Clayton Kershaw on short rest. Then, it was deciding when to remove Kershaw from his outing.
Just as the Dodgers did last year, they turned to their ace in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, needing a win to stave off elimination. The opponent this time was the Washington Nationals, who forced Kershaw to labor in Game 1.
He was improved Tuesday, shaking off a 27-pitch first inning to settle in. Questions on stamina and effectiveness surfaced in the sixth inning.
Jayson Werth led off with a single, Daniel Murphy lined out, and Joc Pederson made a diving catch in the gap on a sinking liner to rob Anthony Rendon of a hit.
Kershaw then battled with Ryan Zimmerman, and struck him out to end the inning. Despite the shaky inning, Kershaw remained in the game to start the seventh. Danny Espinosa lined the first pitch he saw into left field for a leadoff single.
The hit was Espinosa’s first of the series. Prior to that point he was 0-for-5 with five strikeouts when facing Kershaw in the NLDS. Then with two outs, Trea Turner reached on an infield single.
Roberts made a visit to the mound but just as former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly often did, Roberts stuck with his ace.
“Well, I think that right there with Kersh, at that point in time, pitch count, throwing the ball really well, and you know, where our pen was at in that state, he’s our best option,” Roberts later said of his decision.
“And for me, I like the way he was throwing the baseball, and when I went back out there, I wanted him to get Harper.” The 2014 and 2015 NL MVPs went toe-to-toe in an eight-pitch plate appearance.
Harper laid off enticing pitches to the outside corner and walked on a full count to load the bases.
“Man, that’s what baseball is all about right there, a matter of will,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said of the sequence. “Kershaw was on empty, we knew it, they knew it, everybody knew it. That was some battle.
“Kershaw, he’s been hard on him his whole career, and he knows it and Kershaw knows it and you guys know it, everybody knows it.”
Pedro Baez entered in relief and hit Werth with his first pitch to bring a run in. Baez was replaced by Luis Avilan, who promptly allowed a two-run single to Murphy that tied the game. Joe Blanton was next out of the bullpen, and he struck out Rendon to stop the bleeding.
Beyond the frustration that came with watching the baserunners he burdened the bullpen with score, Kershaw believed Harper’s plate appearance should have ended in a different manner.
“There was one (pitch) that was a strike, I think,” Kershaw said. “I think in the first inning there was a strike that [Harper] walked on, too. It’s like, he’s a really good hitter. You don’t need to give him any more strikes.”
Kershaw said he was mentally and physically drained after the Game 4 start, but took solace in the Dodgers forcing a winner-take-all Game 5.
