Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been one of
the best pitchers in all of Major League Baseball since he broke into the
league but that success has not always translated into the playoffs for
whatever reason. The Dodgers were once again sent home in October after two bad
starts for Kershaw in the series and three losses to the St. Louis Cardinals. The
shot that left Kershaw crouched, beaten, and clutching his knees came off the
bat of the Cardinals Matt Adams and has many around the league wondering if
Kershaw will ever figure it out in the postseason.
Kershaw missed the first six weeks of the season in 2014 and
still managed to finish with a 21-3 record and a 1.77 ERA but has had his
issues with the Cardinals in his career. Kershaw since the beginning of the
2012 season has gone 44-13 with a 1.67 ERA against teams that are not the
Cardinals and has a 1-7 record with a 5.69 ERA in eight starts against St.
Louis in the same time frame. Kershaw has his struggles against St. Louis but
has his demons in October as he has a career 1-5 record including four straight
losses with a 5.12 ERA in the playoffs, something that will not get it done in
Los Angeles.
Good news for Kershaw is he is still young and on a team
that now seems committed to winning so he should have plenty of more
opportunities to turn this thing around. Also it should help ease his pain when
he is awarded the NL Cy Young Award later in the month and possibly the MVP
Award as well. If Alex Rodriguez can exercise his demons then surely the best
pitcher on the planet can too.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)