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 A 2-0 lead turned into a 3-2 defeat when ace left-hander Kershaw
hung a curve to Matt Adams, who blasted it over the fence in right
field for a three-run homer in the seventh as the Cards ousted the
Dodgers in the best-of-five Division Series.
Kershaw, the top performer on the team's $241 million payroll, had
failed to hold a 6-2 lead in Game One of the series when the Cards
erupted for eight runs in the dreaded seventh.
"The season ended and I was a big part of the reason why," a subdued
Kershaw told reporters at his locker after the game.
"It doesn't feel good regardless of how you pitched. I can't really
put it in words right now. Just bad deja vu all over again."
The left-hander had completely shut down the Cards through the first
six innings, allowing one hit with nine strikeouts, and struck out
the side in the sixth.
Although he had thrown 94 pitches, about his limit given he was
pitching on three days' rest -- one short of his usual complement --
manager Don Mattingly wanted to coax three more batters from Kershaw
before turning to his suspect bullpen.
Mattingly got the go-ahead from Kershaw before sending him out for
the seventh.
"I think Clayton, where he was at, the way he was feeling, the way
he was cruising along ... I know it’s short rest but at that point
it’s three hitters. Get through Adams and turn the ball over," he
said.
Eight pitches later, two singles and the Adams blast sent the
Dodgers into the off-season.
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Kershaw continued his regular season dominance this year with a 21-3
record and led the major leagues in earned run average for a fourth
successive year with a 1.77 mark.
He also continued a head-scratching lack of success in the
postseason, dropping to 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA.
Last year he gave up seven runs in four innings to lose the deciding
Game Six to St. Louis in the league championship series, one step
from reaching the World Series.
Battery-mate A.J. Ellis said the team would have to pick themselves
up.
"You don't know how many times you're going to be in this situation.
There's no guarantees in life and there's no guarantees in baseball,
that's for sure," the catcher said.
"We've got to let it motivate us and fuel us, and next year set up
the same goals -- win the division and roll the dice when we get in
the playoffs."
(Writing by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Ian Ransom)
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