Dodgers decided to put the weight of their fate in Clayton Kershaw, and got a rather typical performance from the 21-year old wonderkind. Nearly un-hitable brilliance the first four innings, couldn't find the plate in the 5th. For a guy whose September included running into a wall, which took him out of the rotation and into spot relief, it was the 3rd straight time he'd made the most important start of his career, each one leading to the next. First came the clincher we were starting to think would never come, two weeks ago on Saturday against Colorado. He didn't get the decision, but the Dodgers finally won the west, and they hadn't lost since. Game two against the seemingly mighty Cardinals lineup, set him up for his first ever series opening start, in this LCS rematch. At this point, anyone of the Dodgers could go in a series opener, but Kershaw is the only one with the potential to dominate an opponent. And he did...for awhile. I've got to start tweeting so the time code will show I'm not 2nd-guessing after the fact, but in the Vin Scully Press Box, I was beside myself as he familiarly unraveled with walks, and a record-setting three wild pitches, and the only one up in the bullpen, was Scott Elbert, a surprise addition to the postseason roster, and the only guy besides Billingsley I wouldn't relieve even a clearly tiring Kershaw for. A look at the radar gun readings revealed that between the 4th and 5th innings, Kershaw had dwindled from a mid-90's fastball, to the upper 80's, a significant and tell-tale dropoff. The inning was so out of control, I started to wonder if we'll be seeing him in the Cardinals outfield in a few years, (see Rick Ankiel's epic 2000 playoff wildness.) Joe Torre constantly reminds us that for most of his bullpen, lefty/righty doesn't matter. Ramon Troncoso should have been ready for Ryan Howard, not after.
Charlie Manuel nearly gave it back to the Dodgers, when, after going up 8-4, and Chan Ho Park hitting upper 90's on the gun and getting him out of a Andre Ethier leadoff double jam, Manuel pinch hit for him with Ben Francisco! He somehow hit into a doubleplay to centerfield. Ryan Madsen, who nearly cost the Phillies the clincher in Colorado, came close to letting L.A. all the way back, but held enough for Brad Lidge to have a 2-run cushion to work with in the 9th.
It seems pretty dark when Kershaw comes up short thrust into the ace role, but who knows what Pedro Martinez will give them a few hours from now. As you'll see in the interview here on the website, even Ethier would be surprised if Vincente Padilla gives them what he did in the LDS clincher, but the Dodgers should once again have every opportunity to go to Philly with a split. By going to J.A. Haap out of the pen, Manuel's favorite pitcher after Cole Hamels, TBD...has now been locked into Pedro, Cliff Lee in game three, and Joe Blanton in game four. The Dodgers could easily be 2-2 against those next three starters going into Tuesday's off day, and then see what Kershaw comes up with for game 5. After babying Kershaw his entire brief career, Joe suddenly left him in way too long. It's up to those he jumped ahead of in the LCS pecking order to make sure he gets an opportunity to make ammends.
