LOS ANGELES _ Dodger Stadium, Game 1 of the World Series. As stages go, the platform doesn't get much bigger, the spotlight any brighter.
And the right man for the job, as he has been all month, was Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw. Like his idol, Sandy Koufax, who was in attendance for Tuesday night's opener, Kershaw turned in a brilliant performance that people will be talking about for a while, striking out 11 over seven innings to lead the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Astros.
As much as the Dodgers are about justifying their $265 million payroll, and making sure their 104 wins during the regular season weren't merely for show, Kershaw remains the flag-bearer for the franchise, a three-time Cy Young winner who always feels as if there's still something more to prove. When asked on the eve of Game 1 what he enjoyed so much about the big stage, Kershaw smiled.
"Winning," Kershaw said. "Yeah, winning is the best part of that."
No one did more to make that happen Tuesday as Kershaw earned his seventh postseason victory, passing Burt Hooten for the top spot in Dodgers' history. Kershaw threw the opening pitch at 5:11 p.m. PDT and the official announcement was 103 _ that's degrees Fahrenheit, not miles per hour. Chavez Ravine simmered like a gigantic crock pot during the hottest World Series game on record, but neither Cy Young winner seemed to even break a sweat during the early innings. The only exception was Dallas Keuchel serving up an opening-pitch fastball that Chris Taylor hammered into the left-field pavilion, a shocking start that sent the crowd of 54,253 into an immediate frenzy.
If that sounds familiar, you may remember the same thing happening to the Mets' Matt Harvey in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, when the Dark Knight _ the nickname still fit then _ allowed the leadoff dinger to the Royals' Alcides Escobar at Kauffman Stadium. For a while, that appeared to be all Kershaw was going to need.
In watching Kershaw summarily dismiss the Astros, one after the other, with dazzling efficiency, it was hard to believe this was the same pitcher that previously had been haunted by October demons for so long. Entering Game 1, his career playoff resume stood at 6-7 with a 4.40 ERA, hardly stats resembling his regular-season resume.
Once Kershaw got going Tuesday, however, those numbers were inconsequential. He retired the first seven straight before Josh Reddick _ the former Dodger _ lined a single to right field. At the time, it seemed like a lucky punch. Kershaw struck out the side in that third inning, but Alex Bregman greeted him in the fourth by smacking a 94-mph fastball over the wall for the tying home run. The Astros' had been the top offensive team in the majors during the regular season, and yet Kershaw mastered them as if they were cellar-dwellers. After the Bregman blast, Kershaw actually appeared to get better, whiffing the heart of the Houston order _ Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel _ on 13 pitches.
That put Kershaw at eight Ks through only four innings, a ridiculous clip against an Astros' team that was the hardest to strike out this season, doing so at a rate of just 17.3 percent. By comparison, the Brewers, at the very bottom, were at 25.6 percent. During these playoffs, Houston had struck out only eight or more times in four of their previous 11 games _ and Kershaw did it to them less than halfway through Game 1.
At that pace, it felt as if Kershaw was making a statement, a response to those that peppered him with questions about being more of a five- or six-inning pitcher now, as the Dodgers have leaned more on their bullpen rather than asking him to be the hero. Before Game 1, Kershaw was asked if he was jealous of the previous eras that featured Koufax and Orel Hershiser _ Dodgers that were allowed to finish what they started.
"I don't think it's fair to compare eras because baseball is a lot different now," Kershaw said. "I'm not going to debate which one is better or worse. But there's a lot of things that change over the course of time. I think the era of baseball we are in is pretty great. I'm happy to be a part of it."
The Dodgers remain thrilled that Kershaw is, too.
