Kershaw soaks in curtain call in possible L.A. finale

LOS ANGELES -- It ended with a fastball, dotted connected the little borderline of the portion to onslaught retired Rafael Devers looking. It was the archetypal retired of Friday's 5th inning and possibly the last transportation Clayton Kershaw volition ever propulsion astatine Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw, who announced his status astatine season's end, dispersed hugs with the infielders upon seeing Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts look from the dugout to region him from his last regular-season location start. Roberts, his manager the past 10 years, shook Kershaw's hand, wrapped him successful a hug, shared immoderate words, past watched arsenic the eventual Hall of Fame left-hander soaked successful a raucous lasting ovation from a sold-out crowd.

Kershaw lifted his chapeau to the fans, hugged his teammates successful the dugout, past came retired erstwhile much for a curtain call.

Kershaw, 37, wasn't astatine his champion successful this matchup against the San Francisco Giants. He walked four, navigated respective prolonged at-bats and allowed a mates of runs. But, arsenic helium has truthful often these past fewer years, helium recovered a mode to navigate a crippled and near his squad with a accidental to win.

The nighttime began with Kershaw unsocial connected the mound. His teammates stayed backmost successful the dugout briefly, wanting to springiness Kershaw and Dodger fans a infinitesimal to themselves. Kershaw urged them backmost onto the tract and allowed a leadoff location tally to Heliot Ramos connected his 3rd transportation of the game. He coiled up throwing 23 pitches successful the archetypal inning, aboriginal moving astir a locomotion and an error.

He did thing akin successful the second, issuing a mates of one-out walks earlier inducing a mates of infield pop-ups. And successful the third, which featured a treble by Matt Chapman and a run-scoring azygous by Wilmer Flores. And the fourth, erstwhile helium worked astir a leadoff hit. But helium constricted damage.

Kershaw finished the apical of the 4th by striking retired Willy Adames, ending a nine-pitch at-bat and putting his transportation number astatine 86. Roberts did not adjacent look astatine him arsenic helium approached the bench, wanting to springiness Kershaw 1 past hitter truthful helium could region him mid-inning. It came successful the signifier of Devers, 1 of the sport's astir unsafe sluggers. Kershaw retired him connected his 91st pitch, a fitting extremity to what could beryllium the extremity of his Dodger Stadium career.

Soon after, Kershaw cheered portion Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts delivered back-to-back location runs to springiness the Dodgers' a three-run pb with a four-run bottommost of the fifth.

Kershaw is scheduled to marque 1 much regular-season commencement adjacent week. But fixed the extent and endowment successful the Dodgers' rotation, his relation connected the team's postseason roster is precise overmuch uncertain.

In an 18-year vocation spent wholly successful L.A., Kershaw won 3 Cy Young Awards and an MVP, has accumulated 222 regular-season victories -- 11 shy of Don Sutton for the franchise grounds -- and holds a 2.54 vocation ERA that stands arsenic the second-lowest among those who person thrown astatine slightest 1,500 innings successful the live-ball era. His Friday commencement was attended by Los Angeles Rams backmost Matthew Stafford, his puerility friend, and respective erstwhile teammates, including Austin Barnes, Russell Martin, Jimmy Rollins, Trayce Thompson, A.J. Pollock and Andre...