The Los Angeles Dodgers are still reeling from a major let down in Game 7 of the World Series against the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles fell down 5-0 in the first two innings and was not able to break through after putting a whole host of players on base.
This came a few days after ace starter Clayton Kershaw yielded six earned runs in Game 5 of the series. It was yet another horrible postseason outing for a pitcher that’s been historically dominant in the regular season.
For his part, Kershaw knows how his playoff failures look. And he’s incredibly hard on himself.
“Maybe one of these days I won’t fail, we won’t fail and we’ll win one of these things,” Kershaw said, via USA Today. “There’s only one team that can succeed. There’s only one team that wins the last game, so that’s tough.”
Kershaw did dazzle in his two other World Series appearances. He struck out 11 while giving up just one run and three hits in seven innings to open up the series. Then, in a relief role Wednesday evening, Kershaw went four scoreless innings.
The primary reason for Los Angeles’ Game 7 loss was lackluster early-game defense and offense that failed to take advantage of ample opportunities.
Though, the stats most definitely back up the claim that Kershaw is just a different pitcher in October and November. In 24 career playoff appearances, the former Cy Young winner has posted a 4.35 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. During the regular season, he has a career split of 2.36/1.00. That’s pretty darn telling right there.