Postseason blues hit Kershaw, but Dodgers win

WASHINGTON — Think of how difficult it would be to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in October if Clayton Kershaw pitched the way he does in the regular season.

Friday night at Nationals Park, Kershaw was the winning pitcher as the Dodgers took the opener of this National League Division Series, 4-3, from the Nats. But Kershaw was well off the regular-season form that has won three Cy Young Awards for him and has made him baseball’s best pitcher — in the regular season — over the last six years.

But in 13 previous postseason appearances, 10 of them starts, Kershaw had a 2-6 record and a 4.59 earned run average. In two postseason series against the Cardinals in 2013 and 2014, he had an ERA of 7.28.

He was like a different pitcher in the postseason. And he was again Friday night. He was good enough to win the decision, but he was nothing like, well, Clayton Kershaw.

Game Date Time Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 7   LAD 4, WAS 3 FS1 Gm 2 Oct. 8 4 p.m. LAD @ WSH FS1 Gm 3 Oct. 10 4 or 6 p.m. WAS @ LAD MLBN *Gm 4 Oct. 11 5 or 8 p.m. WAS @ LAD FS1 *Gm 5 Oct. 13 5 or 8 p.m. LAD @ WSH FS1 *- If necessary | All times listed ETShop for postseason gear: Dodgers | Nationals • Dodgers vs. Nationals NLDS coverage

The Dodgers qualify for the postseason on a very regular basis. They have won four straight NL West Division titles. They have won the division six times in the last nine years.

But the Dodgers have not been to the World Series since 1988. In recent seasons, they have had many of the components a World Series team would require. But they have not had an ace pitching like an ace should pitch in October.

This year’s Dodgers team has plenty of merit, too. They have some power. This is just the fourth team in Dodgers history with four players who hit 25 or more home runs (Yasmani Grandal, Corey …

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