With that, Kershaw had his seventh strikeout of the day and the 3,052nd of his career. He had completed 5 \u2153 scoreless innings en route to his 223rd career win, lowering his career ERA to 2.53 \u2014 the best among any starting pitcher with 1,000 career innings in the live ball era (since 1920).<\/p>\n
In the dugout, manager Dave Roberts<\/a> quickly motioned to veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman<\/a>. As Kershaw\u2019s last career start came to an end, Roberts wanted one of his fellow superstar teammates to be the one to remove him.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be able to take, in my opinion, the greatest pitcher of our generation out of his last regular-season start,\u201d Freeman said, \u201cI think that might be up there as one of my favorite baseball moments that I\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n When Freeman got to the mound, he exchanged an embrace with Kershaw, who also hugged the rest of his infield teammates. He jokingly asked for the ball, a request Kershaw declined as he kept it in his grasp.<\/p>\n Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw embraces his teammates as he gets lifted from Sunday\u2019s game against the Seattle Mariners.<\/p>\n (John Froschauer \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n Then, the 37-year-old walked off the field for perhaps the final time; donning his cap to a cheering T-Mobile Park crowd, offering a grateful wave as he disappeared into the dugout, and taking a moment for himself on the bench at the end of his 445th MLB outing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so grateful for it all,\u201d Kershaw said of the receptions he has gotten since announcing his retirement two weeks ago. \u201cDodger Stadium last week was pretty amazing. To be able to walk off that mound to that ovation is something I\u2019ll never forget. And today was really special, too. So I couldn\u2019t ask for anything more. It\u2019s been an amazing 10 days, two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow,\u201d he added, ahead of what will be his final postseason, \u201cwe can all turn our focus to beating the Reds.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Dodgers<\/a> completed their regular season with a 6-1 win against the Seattle Mariners \u2014 which included Shohei Ohtani<\/a> setting a new personal-best and single-season club record with his 55th home run, breaking the high marks he set last year \u2014 the Cincinnati Reds snatched the National League\u2019s final wild-card spot<\/a>, setting a best-of-three wild card series at Dodger Stadium starting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Kershaw will not be part of the team\u2019s roster for that series, Roberts announced before the game.<\/p>\n Thus, the Dodgers (who finished the season 93-69) will have to win at least two more games for Kershaw to potentially pitch on a major league mound again.<\/p>\n \u201cI still feel like I can get people out this next month if I need to,\u201d Kershaw said, before cracking a grin: \u201cAnd then, I don\u2019t have to do that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision to leave Kershaw off the wild card roster isn\u2019t shocking. <\/p>\n He was not going to feature in the starting rotation for the series, with Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Ohtani lined up for the three games (Roberts said Snell is a \u201cgood bet\u201d to pitch Game 1). And though Kershaw could have been an option in the bullpen, the Dodgers already have an abundance of left-handed relievers.<\/p>\n Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and catcher Ben Rortvedt, center left, walk to the dugout after working the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners.<\/p>\n (John Froschauer \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n If the Dodgers do advance, Roberts noted, Kershaw will remain in consideration for a roster spot in subsequent rounds and could help out in any capacity.<\/p>\n \u201cI can see him starting a game. I can see him coming in for a short burst. I can see him in long relief,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone can predict how that\u2019s gonna play out. We gotta get through the wild card series, and see who\u2019s standing after that.\u201d<\/p>\n If this is the end of the line for Kershaw, however, he is going out on his own terms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n