{"id":240782,"date":"2025-09-20T06:15:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T06:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/240782\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T06:15:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T06:15:19","slug":"clayton-kershaw-delivers-special-moment-as-dodgers-clinch-playoff-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/240782\/","title":{"rendered":"Clayton Kershaw delivers special moment as Dodgers clinch playoff spot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-09-18\/dodgers-kershaw-retirement-dodgers-why-now\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Clayton Kershaw<\/a> blew a kiss to his family, pounded a fist in his glove, then made the familiar trot from the <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dodgers<\/a>\u2019  dugout to the Chavez Ravine mound.<\/p>\n<p>This time, however, he did it alone.<\/p>\n<p>In what was his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium, coming one day after he announced that he would retire at the end of this year, Kershaw took the field while the rest of his teammates stayed back and applauded.<\/p>\n<p>           <video playsinline=\"playsinline\" loop=\"\" preload=\"none\" title=\"\u2018Kersh is king.\u2019 What Dodgers fans will remember about Clayton Kershaw\" data-video-id=\"00000199-651f-d183-a19f-ffff201c0000\">     <\/video>                 <img class=\"image\" alt=\"\"   width=\"473\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758348918_10_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>             <\/p>\n<ul data-element=\"action-bar-menu\" class=\"flex gap-2 list-none  absolute w-full h-10 top-0\">\n<li data-element=\"action-bar-share\" class=\"flex  w-full h-10 top-0 lg:items-center lg:justify-center \">\n<p> Share via     Close extra sharing options  <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On a night of appreciation for his 18-year career, the moment belonged to him \u2014 and an adoring fan base that has watched his every step.<\/p>\n<p>The first time Kershaw ever pitched at Dodger Stadium, he was a much-hyped and highly anticipated 20-year-old prospect. His talent immense. His Hall of Fame future in front of him.<\/p>\n<p>When he did it for potentially the last time on Friday night, he was a much-beloved and long-admired 37-year-old veteran. Hardened by the failures that once defined his baseball mortality. Celebrated for the way he had learned to overcome.<\/p>\n<p>Few athletes in modern sport play for one team, for so long. Fewer still experience the emotional extremes Kershaw was put through, or manage still to weather the storm.<\/p>\n<p>When Kershaw was asked about Dodgers fans during his <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/dodgers\/story\/2025-09-18\/dodgers-kershaw-retirement-dodgers-why-now\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">retirement news conference Thursday<\/a>, that\u2019s the dynamic he quickly pointed to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been a smooth ride,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had our ups and downs for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Between boundless cheers and intermittent boos, historic milestones and horrifying heartbreaks, triumphant summers and torturous falls.<\/p>\n<p>In regular-season play, baseball has maybe never seen a more accomplished pitcher. Kershaw\u2019s 2.54 ERA is the lowest in the live-ball era among those with 100 starts. He is one of the 20 members of MLB\u2019s 3,000 strikeout club. He is one of four pitchers to  win three Cy Youngs and an MVP award.<\/p>\n<p>In October, however, no one\u2019s history has been more checkered. There were implosions against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 and 2014. The infamous fifth game of the 2017 World Series against the sign-stealing Houston Astros. The nightmare relief appearance in 2019 against the Washington Nationals. Nine trips to the playoffs in his first 11 seasons, without winning a championship.<\/p>\n<p>           <img id=\"yt-img-6QTY81Sjn6g\" class=\"absolute\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/6QTY81Sjn6g\/hqdefault.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/>               <\/p>\n<p class=\"video-enhancement-title\">Watch Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw\u2019s full start against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.<\/p>\n<p>In those days, it made Kershaw\u2019s relationship complicated with Dodger Nation. He was heroic until he wasn\u2019t. Clutch until the autumn. It didn\u2019t matter that he was often pitching on short rest, or through injuries and strenuous workloads, or in situations no other pitcher would have ever been tasked. He was the embodiment of the Dodgers\u2019 repeated postseason failings. The face of a franchise that could never clear the final hurdle.<\/p>\n<p>In Kershaw\u2019s case, though, that\u2019s how such an enduring bond was built.<\/p>\n<p>By persevering through such struggles. By coming back every season. By finally getting over the hump with World Series titles in 2020 and 2024. By never shying away and never backing down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith that responsibility as the ace, you\u2019ve got to take on a lot of scrutiny or potential failures,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cEverything wasn\u2019t optimal for him. But he never complained about it. Never made an excuse for it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the fans, certainly at his highest moments, have shown their love for him and support. In those other times, I think it\u2019s just, the fans have been hurting along with him. Wanting so much for a guy that\u2019s been such a stalwart and a great citizen and person for this city and organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the respect, the universal respect, is certainly warranted 10 times over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>           <img id=\"yt-img-eFumfavBU0I\" class=\"absolute\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/eFumfavBU0I\/hqdefault.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/>                 <\/p>\n<p>Over a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/gameday\/giants-vs-dodgers\/2025\/09\/19\/776256\/final\/box\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">6-3 win<\/a> against the San Francisco Giants that ended just minutes after the Dodgers <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByJackHarris\/status\/1969261063087485340\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">clinched their 13th consecutive postseason berth<\/a>, that\u2019s what was celebrated from Kershaw\u2019s first pitch to his last.<\/p>\n<p>The left-hander pitched 4\u2153 innings of two-run ball, striking out six batters on four hits and four walks, but it wasn\u2019t his stats that mattered. He struggled with his command, averaged only 89 mph with his fastball, and left the mound with the Dodgers trailing, but the memories from this night will go far beyond that.<\/p>\n<p>From the moment Kershaw emerged on the field at 6:23 p.m., fans rose to their feet. They cheered and chanted his pregame routine in the outfield and bullpen. They roared when his name was introduced shortly before first pitch.<\/p>\n<p>They knew this could be his Dodger Stadium send-off, a sentimental opportunity to say thank you for all he accomplished and all he endured.<\/p>\n<p>So, when he then emerged for the start of the first inning, they serenaded him with an extended ovation. Alone on the field, he smiled and waved from the top of the mound.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is one of those moments where Dodger fans, you all have seen him for 18 years and watched his career grow and everything that he\u2019s gone through,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cPeople are going to back and go, \u2018I was there for the last time he started a home game at Dodger Stadium.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From there, the night was surprisingly tense.<\/p>\n<p>Kershaw gave up a home run on the third pitch of the game to Heliot Ramos. He spent the next four innings battling traffic, stranding two runners later in the first, another two in the second, and two more in the third after a Wilmer Flores RBI single.<\/p>\n<p>By the fourth, it was clear Kershaw was not long for the evening. His pitch count was rising. The bullpen was active. And with two outs in the inning, Willy Adames was extending a two-strike at-bat.<\/p>\n<p>On the ninth pitch of that battle, however, Kershaw finally got a whiff on a slider. For the first time since first pitch, Dodger Stadium erupted once again. When Kershaw returned to the dugout, he had enough left in the tank to face at least one more batter.<\/p>\n<p>When he returned to the mound to begin the fifth, he struck out Rafael Devers with a knee-high fastball for a called third strike.<\/p>\n<p>With that, Kershaw\u2019s night was over. Roberts started to the mound. The infield swarmed him with a line of hugs.<\/p>\n<p>In the stands, applause echoed through a sell-out crowd of 53,037 \u2014 which included former teammates Austin Barnes, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Trayce Thompson and AJ Pollock; as well as other Los Angeles sports icons from Magic Johnson to Matthew Stafford (a childhood friend of Kershaw\u2019s from Texas).<\/p>\n<p>Then, after an embrace with a smiling Roberts, Kershaw made the slow walk back off the field.<\/p>\n<p>He took a deep breath. He gave a hugging motion to his family sitting in the loge level. Then he donned his cap, and repeatedly said thank you as he looked around the stadium. After more hugs with coaches and teammates in the dugout, he reemerged into view for a raucous curtain call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m super grateful to every single Dodger fan who\u2019s come through the stalls here at Dodger Stadium, and everyone that I\u2019ve gotten to meet along the way,\u201d Kershaw had said the day before. \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty special to have that fan base behind us all these years. There\u2019s nothing better than having a full Dodger Stadium and getting to pitch in front of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, one more October awaits \u2014 with the Dodgers (87-67) officially clinching  a postseason berth  Friday after roaring to the lead on back-to-back home runs from Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts in the bottom half of the fifth.<\/p>\n<p>Kershaw\u2019s role in this last title chase is uncertain. With a loaded rotation, but shaky bullpen, the Dodgers\u2019 best use for him could come in a relief role. Roberts said he envisions Kershaw fitting somewhere on the playoff roster, but has stopped short of any guarantees.<\/p>\n<p>Either way, Kershaw has already left his mark this season, finishing Friday with a 10-2 record and 3.55 ERA. His legacy with the Dodgers, and its forever indebted fan base, has long been cemented.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the only thing I can say right now is thank you so much,\u201d Kershaw said in an on-field postgame interview amid one last stadium-wide ovation. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t always been a smooth ride, but you guys have stuck with me. Thank you so much. We got another month to go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Clayton Kershaw blew a kiss to his family, pounded a fist in his glove, then made the familiar&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":240783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[19497,1582,276,7480,128690,5494,2442,128689,2091,26803,81808,2961,224,5337,8332,6475,121513,26804,6620,14164],"class_list":{"0":"post-240782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-bullpen","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-clayton-kershaw","12":"tag-dodger-fan","13":"tag-dodger-stadium","14":"tag-dodgers","15":"tag-fan-base","16":"tag-field","17":"tag-first-inning","18":"tag-first-pitch","19":"tag-la","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-mound","23":"tag-night","24":"tag-playoff-berth","25":"tag-roberts","26":"tag-time","27":"tag-way"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115235161875474205","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}