SEATTLE -- The Dodgers opted to shorten up their starting pitchers the past couple of days, with an eye on having them available for the best-of-three NL Wild Card Series that begins Tuesday. That was not the case with Clayton Kershaw, who pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Mariners for the final regular-season start of his career on Sunday.
Kershaw also figures to be used in relief in the postseason, as long as the Dodgers advance past the Wild Card round. He made his first appearance out of the bullpen since 2019 on Wednesday in Arizona, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. While he seemed likely to be an innings-eater for L.A. in the postseason, he could possibly be used in a short-burst role as well.
Kershaw announced earlier this month that he will retire after the 2025 season. His 451st career start, which came against the Mariners, wrapped an extraordinary 18-year regular-season run in the big leagues that should see him inducted into the Hall of Fame when all is said and done.
The Dodgers have already reckoned with how to include all six of their starters in their postseason pitching plans. They will only need three starting pitchers for the Wild Card Series -- Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in some order -- but Emmet Sheehan and Tyler Glasnow will be available in relief.
Kershaw, an 11-time All-Star and a three-time NL Cy Young Award winner, announced on Sept. 18 that he will retire at the end of this season. He made his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium the following day.
The Dodgers, who are the NL West champions for the 12th time in the past 13 years, will be the No. 3 seed in the National League playoffs and begin their postseason run on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium against the No. 6 seed, which will either be the Reds or the Mets, depending on Sunday’s results.
Game 1 of the Dodgers’ NL Wild Card Series is scheduled to begin at 9:08 p.m. ET/6:08 p.m. PT. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN.