Clayton Kershaw Back In Postseason Form And That's Not Good

Death, taxes and Clayton Kershaw crumbling in the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers ace is notoriously not so ace-like in the postseason. And in the opening game of the NLDS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he saw his worst playoff outing yet.

Kershaw got shelled for six hits, six runs and a walk before he was pulled in the first inning Saturday night — the shortest starting appearance of his career. Prior to that disaster, his shortest outing was three innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 NLCS.

Although the Dodgers mercifully pulled their three-time NL Cy Young winner, the rest of the pitching staff didn't fare much better. The D-backs lit them up for 11 total runs to take a 1-0 series lead against the NL West champs.

I'm not here to rip apart a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Regardless of my well-documented ill feelings feelings toward the Dodgers, Kershaw is hard to root against. He's a genuinely good and kind human.

And he has stats most pitchers could never dream of touching with a 45-foot foul pole.

In 425 regular season games, the 10-time All-Star boasts a record of 210-92 with a 2.48 ERA in the regular season.

His playoff stats, though, are far less pretty.

The Postseason is tough for Clayton Kershaw.

The lefty has made 39 playoff appearances and 32 starts. He's 13-12 with a 4.49 ERA, 213 strikeouts and one save.

Granted, his postseasons haven't been without bright spots. He pitched to an impressive 2.63 ERA in two starts in the 2015 postseason and a 2.93 mark in 2020 — the year he helped Los Angeles earn a World Series title. In that World Series, Kershaw made two starts (11.2 innings) and pitched to a 2.31 ERA with 14 strikeouts.

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

But when you're a superstar, the bar is high. And poor performances sometimes stand out more than great ones. Like that 2014 postseason, where Kershaw had a 7.82 ERA in two starts. And he pitched to a 6+ ERA both in 2009 and 2019.

Saturday's beatdown courtesy of the D-backs is just the latest example.

Kershaw is currently signed to a one-year deal, which will make him a free agent once the season ends. But retirement rumors are strong, and they are swirling.

But the NLDS is young. And the Dodgers certainly have a chance to salvage the best-of-five series. If they don't, we might have just witnessed Kershaw's last time on the mound.

Hell of a note to end on.