HOUSTON _ This was his moment, his chance to reclaim championship glory for his franchise, his opportunity to change how his postseason legacy would be described.
What Clayton Kershaw found instead Sunday night was more of the same. More heartache. More frustration. More shock.
In the most important start of his career, Kershaw failed to deliver. In the franchise's most crucial game in nearly three decades, he unraveled.
Again.
The Los Angeles Dodgers provided Kershaw with a four-run advantage. He couldn't protect it.
They broke the stalemate by scoring another three runs for him. He couldn't protect that lead, either.
Kershaw was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings and the Dodgers went on to lose 13-12 in 10 innings.
If the Dodgers fail to reverse their three-games-to-two deficit to the Houston Astros in this World Series, his disastrous start in Game 5 could be what forever defines him.
Fair or not, this is the profession Kershaw chose and this was the franchise he pledged his allegiance to when he signed a seven-year, $215 million contract in 2014.
Los Angeles reveres its champions. Sandy Koufax. Don Drysdale. Fernando Valenzuela. Orel Hershiser.
Kershaw has occupied a curious middle ground in the city's sporting landscape, admiration for his regular-season achievements, professionalism and philanthropy tempered by disappointments of his failure to deliver a championship.
A close examination of his postseason defeats offered a number of reasons why he failed to maintain his regular-season form. He pitched on three days' rest. Weak bullpens prevented his timely removal. The offense didn't back him.
There were no excuses this time. The depth of the rotation made it unnecessary for him to pitch on short rest this postseason. The bullpen was performing well. The potency of the offense provided him with run support.
And Kershaw was looking as if he would significantly elevate his postseason legacy. The Dodgers won each of his first four starts in these playoffs, with Kershaw posting a 3-0 record and 2.96 earned-run average in those games.
His best game, his October magnum opus, came on the sport's greatest stage. Kershaw was magnificent in Game 1 of this World Series, limiting the Astros to a run and three hits in a 3-1 triumph.
And now here he was, back for Game 5, with the series tied, two games to two.
He was pitching for control of this World Series. A victory here and the Dodgers would return home ahead, three games to two, only one win removed from the franchise's first championship in 29 seasons.
Every afternoon weight-lifting session, every wind sprint in the outfield, every back-strengthening exercised was performed with this game, with this moment, in mind.
Kershaw looked ready for the moment. He was calm as he engaged reporters in a news conference Saturday. And he started well Sunday.
The Dodgers spotted him a 3-0 lead in the first inning, when Logan Forsythe singled in a pair of runs and Enrique Hernandez scampered home from third base as Forsythe forced a throwing error while stealing second.
Kershaw retired the first six Astros. Evan Gattis singled to start the bottom of the third, but Kershaw promptly forced Marwin Gonzalez to ground into a double play. Kershaw faced the minimum number of batters through three innings.
Forsythe doubled and scored on a single by Austin Barnes to increase the Dodgers' edge to 4-0 in the fourth inning.
Suddenly and inexplicably, Kershaw lost the strike zone in the bottom of that inning. He started the inning by walking George Springer, who advanced to second base on a single by Jose Altuve and plated the Astros' first run on a double by Carlos Correa. The next batter, Yuli Gurriel, blasted a slider over the seats perched above the 19-foot wall in the left field. The game was tied, 4-4.
The Dodgers responded in the fifth inning, reclaiming the lead on a three-run home run by Cody Bellinger.
Kershaw retired the first two batters of the fifth inning, only to issue consecutive walks to George Springer and Alex Bregman.
Manager Dave Roberts wouldn't let him go any further. Kershaw's night was over.
The baseball removed from his hand by Roberts, Kershaw scaled down the mound, stroked his chin and looked up toward the ceiling of the indoor stadium. He watched in disbelief from the bench as his replacement, the previously unscored-upon Kenta Maeda, served up a three-run blast to Altuve.
The game was tied again. Kershaw lived another October nightmare, only this one was later than the previous moments of horror, just two days before Halloween.
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