LOS ANGELES -- For most of the 48 pitches Clayton Kershaw threw on Wednesday, he was just trying to get to the next one.
“You just try to get people out,” Kershaw said. “I wasn't throwing strikes, and it's hard to pitch behind in the count."
But he was never able to settle in. Laboring through what might’ve been his final career outing at Dodger Stadium, Kershaw was ineffective in the Dodgers’ 8-2 loss to the Phillies in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
“It was hard to watch,” said Mookie Betts, who went 2-for-4 with a triple in the first inning. “But … he’s going to have a statue out in front of Dodger Stadium. Keep that in mind and understand that in the grand scheme of things Kershaw is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever do it.”
Kershaw started the seventh inning, marking his first postseason relief appearance since giving up back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS.
He allowed a leadoff single to Trea Turner and walked Kyle Schwarber, but Kershaw was able to keep the Dodgers within two runs thanks to a couple of notable plays in right field by Teoscar Hernández and a pickoff from Will Smith to catch Schwarber far off first base.
Things unraveled in the eighth.
J.T. Realmuto crushed a second-pitch slider from Kershaw for a no-doubt home run to lead off the inning. Max Kepler walked on five pitches. Nick Castellanos reached on a fielding error by Max Muncy. Turner drove in both of them on a bloop single that found grass in right field before Schwarber added the exclamation point with his second homer of the game.
“Tough couple innings there,” Kershaw said. “I kind of got bailed out there in the seventh. Good play by Teo. Just didn't make enough good pitches. I was battling command. It's hard when you're trying to throw strikes as opposed to getting people out. Just wasn't a fun inning.”
Later, Muncy took the blame in defense of his teammate.
“It wasn’t good to see that,” he said. “I thought it was my fault, not being able to get a clean ground ball on that. I know it was a short hop, but it’s still a play I need to make.”
But even in the seventh when he didn’t give up any runs, Kershaw’s command issues showed. His slider lacked depth and “teeth,” per manager Dave Roberts, and the fastball wasn’t there, either, as he continued to fall behind in counts.
Only 22 of Kershaw’s 48 pitches were thrown for strikes, and he only drew two swings-and-misses. And the contact he was giving up was loud — the average exit velocity on Kershaw’s slider was 96.9 mph.
“Just the command wasn't there tonight,” Roberts said.
Kershaw, who hadn’t pitched in a game since the regular season finale on Sept. 28, finished his outing with five runs allowed (four earned) on six hits with three walks.
“I just did everything I could in between [appearances]. It's been a while,” Kershaw said. “Threw flat, threw on the ground as best I could. Just wasn't there tonight.”
One factor that may have contributed to Kershaw staying in the game as long as he did was the absence of Tanner Scott. Roberts revealed after the game that Scott wasn’t at the ballpark for personal reasons that made him “completely unavailable.” His status for Game 4 is unclear.
The Dodgers didn’t finish the sweep, but the way they lost in Game 3 makes it easier, in Roberts’ eyes, to turn the page as they get another crack at closing the Phillies out at home in Game 4.
“If you look back going into this series and said we'd be up 2-1, we would have banked it with [Tyler Glasnow] going in,” he said. “I feel good with where we're at. … And it's certainly flushed.”
Kershaw has already moved on.
“That's the great thing about baseball,” he said. “There's a new game every day. Game 4 tomorrow. Be ready to go."