This could be one of the coolest moments in the history of the World Series.
Clayton Kershaw, out of the bullpen, only days away from the end of his legendary Los Angeles Dodgers career.
Kershaw has already made clear that he’s going to retire at the end of the season. There was no telling whether he’d even pitch again.
But in Game 3 of the World Series, Kershaw got up to start getting warm in the ninth inning. He didn’t come in for the 10th, but then there Kershaw was warming up again during the 11th, and again during the 12th. Still, he didn’t enter.
Then the moment came: With the bases loaded and two outs in a tie game in the top of the 12th, in came Kershaw.
It’s the first extra inning appearance of Kershaw’s career.
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Why is Clayton Kershaw pitching out of the Dodgers’ bullpen?
Kershaw is pitching out of the bullpen because he doesn’t have another obvious role for manager Dave Roberts in the Dodgers’ gameplan.
It’s an odd spot for the lifelong starting pitcher to be, so he hasn’t seen much action this postseason.
He didn’t pitch at all in the NLCS as the Dodgers’ starting pitchers put together long outings in a four-game sweep of the Brewers.
He got to pitch in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, but in 2.0 innings, he allowed five runs, including two home runs.
Roberts has been content to ride his starting pitchers right now, with Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.
Kershaw won’t get the baseball for a start in the World Series. He needed a unique moment to get in.
This is it. Extra innings wouldn’t be planned for. There’s no bonus runner. The Dodgers could need the length of a starting pitcher to last for a while.
Kershaw is that guy. And here we go.
