The Dodgers put up 15 runs Wednesday, and that's not the only reason things are looking up for LA: Clayton Kershaw is back.
The left-handed great was slated to start Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Braves but was scratched hours before the first pitch with a recurring back issue. After the Dodgers won Game 3, 15-3, manager Dave Roberts confirmed to media that Kershaw would get the ball in Game 4. The Braves lead the best-of-seven NLCS, two games to one.
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Back issues have plagued Kershaw in the past, although he made it through the shortened 2020 season in good health. A healthy Kershaw's fastball velocity increased by 1.3 miles per hour in 2020 from 2019. It also allowed him to throw his slider harder, which increased its whiff percentage and decreased opponents' batting average against that offering.
One of the great pitchers of his generation, Kershaw's relative postseason struggles have also been well documented. His career regular season ERA is 2.43, while it rises to 4.23 in the postseason. But in 2020, Kershaw has put together two gems so far.
“I wish there was a magic formula to have everything going the way you want it to every game, but sometimes it just doesn’t work that way," Kershaw said during the NLDS.
In the Wild Card round, Kershaw threw eight shutout innings against the Brewers with 13 strikeouts. When the Dodgers' dugout got on the bullpen phone during the eighth inning, the broadcast showed Kershaw imploring Roberts to let him stay in the game. He proceeded to get a pickoff and strikeout in short order to finish the eighth.
Then in the NLDS against the Padres, Kershaw went six innings, allowing three runs and striking out six against a potent Padres lineup.
“He did what we needed,” Roberts said after Kershaw beat San Diego. “I think he made a couple mistakes ... but he gave us six innings, three runs, and we were winning when he came out of the game. He put our team in position to win, so he did a nice job, a real nice job.”
In Game 4 against the Braves, Kershaw is slated to face off with rookie right-hander Bryse Wilson, who is likely an opener in what will be a bullpen game for the Braves. If Kershaw's back can hold up and the LA bats stay hot, it very well could be a victory for the three-time Cy Young winner to bring all the series momentum the Dodgers' way.