Ace in the hole.
Clayton Kershaw threw eight shutout innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers blanked the Atlanta Braves, 3-0, to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five NLDS series on Friday night.
Perhaps fuming from being passed over as the starter in Game 1, Kershaw pitched the best postseason game of his career as he surrendered just two hits without issuing a walk, to go along with three strikeouts and eight shutout innings, the deepest he's gone into a game in his playoff career.
After allowing a leadoff double to rookie Ronald Acuña Jr. to start the game, Kershaw retired the next 14 consecutive batters he faced, leading the Dodgers to their second straight playoff shutout.
"I think that it was one of the best outings that I've seen," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts of his ace. "He was in complete control."
After being named the Game 1 starter for the last five years, Kershaw took the mound with a chip on his shoulder, after the team opted to start Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu in the opener on Thursday.
"Yeah, maybe. Maybe a tick, for sure," said Kershaw when asked if there was any extra satisfaction in his performance after not starting in Game 1. "But Ryu threw so unbelievable last night that you just want to match him. That's all I was trying to do is try and put our team in a good spot, and you want to defend home field when you have home field obviously. So Game 1, Game 2, game whatever, I'm getting to pitch in the playoffs and I'm excited about that."
Regardless of how you felt about the decision to start Ryu over Kershaw, the results speak for themselves as both pitchers dominated the Braves lineup with back-to-back shutouts in Games 1 and 2.
According to Stats LLC., the only other team to get shutout in their first two postseason games of a series was the 1921 New York Giants against the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Giants went on to win that series in seven games.
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In addition, Ryu and Kershaw joined some exclusive company, becoming the first Dodgers duo to pitch seven or more scoreless innings in back-to-back postseason games since Jerry Reuss and Burt Hooton did it in 1981 against the Houston Astros and Montreal Expos.
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Manny Machado put the Dodgers on the board with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, after he was given a green light on a 3-0 fastball from Sanchez.
"If you're going to swing 3-0, you definitely want to hit it like I did, for sure," said Machado. "I just excited we got the lead right away. You know, got the lead for one of the best pitchers in the game in the first inning definitely gives us a boost, gives us the energy moving forward."
The two-run blast was Machado's first as a Dodger in the postseason and just the second of his career (2012 against the New York Yankees).
Yasmani Grandal extended the lead with a solo shot off Braves starter Anibal Sanchez in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
"I was just trying to see the ball," said Grandal of his 0-2 homer. "I told myself to get on my two-strike approach and see it as much as I could and react. It just so happened he missed with a fastball in and I was able to hit it out."
In 31 career games against the Braves, including both regular season and Postseason, Grandal is batting .289 with 11 runs, six doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBI.
Sanchez was no match for Kershaw as the 34-year-old allowed three runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts in four and 2/3 innings.
"I see the frustration those guys have against this guy," Braves starter Anibal Sanchez said of his teammates facing Kershaw.
After eight shutout innings, Kershaw's night appeared to be over as he headed into the clubhouse between innings. However, Kershaw came back out of the dugout and on to the mound to start the ninth, bringing the sellout crowd of 54,452 to their feet in anticipation of Kershaw going for the complete game shutout.
Unfortunately for the capacity crowd, the move was simply a ploy to get Braves manager Brian Snitker to go to his bench and waste Tyler Flowers as a pinch-hitter.
"Yeah, it was the plan all along," said Kershaw of coming out for the top of the ninth. "If Duda had come up, I would have gotten Duda, the lefty there, but the plan all along was if they burned their bench, which is what we wanted to do and Flowers came out, that Kenley had the ninth. And that was the plan all along."
The Dodgers will look to sweep the series on Sunday in Atlanta.
Up Next:
Rookie right-hander Walker Buehler will start in Game 3 on Sunday opposite right-hander Kevin Gausman at 5:07PM PT at SunTrust Park in Atlanta.
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