Clayton Kershaw to pitch on three days’ rest in Game 4
ST. LOUIS — Clayton Kershaw said Monday that Major League Baseball players “always have something to prove” because “the game is very humbling.” And there haven’t been many more humbling experiences in Kershaw’s career than his previous start, Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
Staked to a six-run lead against the St. Louis Cardinals, Kershaw allowed eight runs and eight hits over 6 2/3 innings. The Dodgers lost 10-9.
That’s why he’s ready to get back to business in Game 4 on Tuesday afternoon — no matter that it’s going to be on three days’ rest. Kershaw’s only pitched with three days between starts once in his career, and it was a success, in Game 4 of the 2013 NLDS against the Braves. He’s hoping for a repeat of that, rather than what happened against the Cards.
“I was ready to do it, regardless,” Kershaw said. “Obviously after as bad as I pitched in Game 1 it wasn’t going to be me going in there and say, ‘I want the ball.’ I was definitely ready for it and definitely wanted to do it, just waiting for the opportunity.”
Manager Don Mattingly said before Game 3 that the plan all along was to bring back Kershaw on short rest, he just had to wait to see how the series would shake out after two games. And how Kershaw was feeling. Kershaw has had tough starts before, but he struggled picking himself up emotionally from what happened at Dodger Stadium. After the team won Game 2, and the Dodgers worked out at Busch Stadium on Sunday night, Kershaw was fine, Mattingly said.
“He’s back to business,” Mattingly said. “He’ll be able to tell you. But it’s Clayton Kershaw. I hate to say it like that. These kind of guys don’t curl up and go away.
“These guys go to work, they come back. They keep working and they keep going. So this is a different cat.”
Mattingly said Zack Greinke is standing by to pitch Game 5.
During his workout, Kershaw wore a T-shirt bearing an image of teammate Juan Uribe along with a slogan: “You can do better.” Regardless that he’s likely to win another Cy Young once the voting results are announced, Kershaw must do better.
“People don’t care about what you’ve done in the past,” Kershaw said. “It’s: What have you done for me lately? People turn on you really fast and I know that.”
People turn, and so do seasons. The long grind can end so quickly. There’s nothing to save Kershaw for.
“He’s our best guy,” Mattingly said.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
