Dodgers dropped Clayton Kershaw in the first match of NLCS

MORE THAN 1

Clayton Kershaw, Postseason Pitcher, is a faint chapter of the book. This is an endless story that is more complex than its detractors think, perhaps more ugly than what the true believers of Kershaw are willing to admit.

That night, Kershaw had left before the end of the fourth inning. The Dodgers have feverishly allocated four points in the eighth and ninth innings, but they have lost six to five times, leaving them only a few precious hours to contemplate what annoys them before the second game on Saturday afternoon.

This is not Kershaw's problem: he will probably be on the ice until the fifth day on Wednesday in Los Angeles, assuming that these Brewers do not run their 15-game winning streak and that the polka gets into the World Series.

But it's also impossible to ignore that Kershaw, at the age of 30, is an asset to the man who has won three Cy Young Awards and a MVP trophy, and was the cornerstone of this Dodgers club that won six titles in the National League of the West.

"He's on the mound competing as much as he can," said receiver Yasmani Grandal. "We almost dropped it. I think that's the most important thing with hindsight of this game. "

Indeed, Grandal chose a bad time to play what could have been the worst defensive game of his career. He was almost entirely responsible for the Brewers' assist in the third inning, as his past ball allowed two riders to score. Then, interference from the recuperators – the bat of Jesus Aguilar – barely touched the back of his glove – canceled the sublime attack of a liner of the first basic player, David Freese, who would have been the second exit.

Hernan Perez's ball in the middle of the field was a sacrificial volley and a 2-1 lead, rather than the third of the inning.

"I think it was a matter of minimizing damage. Obviously, we could not do it and I was part of it, "said Grandal, who said he was caught off guard. "I take this on myself to be as good as I can behind the plate."

That's enough. Yet there was a moment when Kershaw could have got out of trouble. These days are gone, at least now.

The man who has eight seasons of at least 200 strikeouts has made 74 shots and got only five shots and missed. He could set up the Brewers, but could not finish them: five of the eight who managed to defeat Kershaw escaped a double-strike situation.

A fastball that dropped from an average of nearly 94 mph to under 91 mph in three seasons missed a few bats. His cursor was missing a bite. That curved ball represented four of the nine outs he recorded, but the Brewers soon learned to put it aside, knowing that his other two fields did not put them out tonight.

Perhaps more alarmingly, it was not the many Brewers stars that precipitated his downfall and then buried him.

Instead, it was pitcher Brandon Woodruff – himself a total of 18 – who had the discipline of firing a 2 and 2 curve ball, crushing a fastball and then crushing a 92mph offering at using the right wall of the ground. to send Miller Park in a frenzy and even the game, 1-1.

"I knew he could hit the bat a bit," Kershaw said. "I did not know that he could do that."

A round later, it is the 7-8-9 men who do the dirty work again: a walk to the start for receiver Manny Pina, a single from Orlando Arcia associated with a mistake by Chris Taylor. Then comes Domingo Santana: a two-point single that puts the Dodgers in a 4-1 hole and, thanks to the famous Brewers mouthpiece, tilts the match in favor of Milwaukee.

"Sometimes," said Kershaw, "the results are out of your reach, but you just have to make the shots."

In Match 1, neither one nor the other occurred. Kershaw's weakness in the playoffs may have been too exaggerated given the size of the sample – he started 133 innings in the playoffs, still has a very good WHIP of 1.10 and saved the Dodgers' season at many times – but the NLCS is its Kryptonite. He is now 2-5 with an average of 5.24 in 11 games, including eight starts, in the penultimate round of baseball.

The second match should be in favor of the Dodgers. The Brewers will not have super taker Josh Hader, who pitched three innings in the first game. The Dodgers had six men in base against their other top three lifters – Joakim Soria, Jeremy Jeffress and Corey Knebel – and nearly equaled the match against Chris Taylor's triple-round scraping the ninth inning.

One win and Kershaw takes another start at Dodger Stadium – potentially the last one, since he has an opt-out clause in his contract. Yet, this seems a long way off one night, the future Hall of Fame has struggled to bring out the less experienced hitters.

"He's been in the playoffs for a very long time," says Grandal, "and he knows what he has to do to win games and that's all that matters." The fifth game is coming up and he'll be the guy on the mound and the guy who will give us a win. "

Only if he is better than he was in the first match. This is also true for his teammates.