The cameras will be out, and so will the fond memories, on Friday night when Los Angeles Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw makes the final regular-season home start of his storied career.
Kershaw, 37, who announced Thursday that this will be his final season, will have a fitting home farewell with a matchup against a longtime foe in the San Francisco Giants.
In his 18 major league seasons, Kershaw’s 62 appearances and 60 starts against the Giants are by far his most against any team. And true to his dominating ways, the left-hander has a 2.08 ERA to go with a 27-16 record against San Francisco in 407 1/3 innings.
The Dodgers (86-67) could use more of the same as they nurse a three-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.
Los Angeles recorded a 2-1 victory over the Giants on Thursday after six Dodgers pitchers combined on a one-hitter.
Still chugging along with a 10-2 record and a 3.53 ERA in 20 starts this season, Kershaw was fairly certain from the start that this season would be his last. He began to tell teammates about his plans in recent days and sent the team a group text to make it official Thursday morning.
“The game itself, I’m going to miss a lot, but I’ll be OK without that,” Kershaw said. “I think the hard part is the feeling after a win, celebrating with you guys. That’s pretty special.”
Said teammate Freddie Freeman: “I think today, we’ve barely scratched the surface of the emotions.”
Kershaw has one win in two starts against the Giants this season, with a 3.60 ERA, and will suit up one more time in a regular-season game at home, where he has 117 of his 222 career wins. In July, he recorded his 3,000th career strikeout on the home mound while facing the Chicago White Sox.
“I don’t know how the rest of the season is going to play out,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “but we certainly wouldn’t be in this position in the standings if it weren’t for (Kershaw). I’m certain of that.”
The Giants (76-77) will not be casual observers at the Kershaw party. Far from it.
After the series-opening loss Friday, San Francisco is three games out of the final wild-card spot in the NL with just over a week remaining.
Patrick Bailey had the only hit for the Giants on Thursday, and it came on a single in the second inning. They worked 10 walks, including four in the seventh inning, but scored just one run while striking out 14 times.
It was the first time San Francisco lost a game while allowing two runs or less since Aug. 16.
The Giants will send left-hander Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.50 ERA) to the mound on Friday. His most recent start came Sunday when he was roughed up for five runs on six hits with four walks over four innings in a 10-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Ray will look for better mechanics on Friday.
“I felt, out of the stretch, a little bit like my front side was getting a little too quick,” Ray said of his last start. “I was missing a lot arm-side. I just wasn’t able to really get on top of it like I was out of the windup. I was just kind of fighting that all day, really.”
In 24 career starts against Los Angeles, his most against any major league team, Ray is 9-7 with a 3.54 ERA.
–Field Level Media
