The St. Louis Cardinals brought up bad memories, and Clayton Kershaw has had enough of the ghosts from the past.
Before the Dodgers hurler started Sunday’s matchup in St. Louis, the Cardinals replayed Matt Adams’ three-run home run off Kershaw from the 2014 NLDS, which wound up winning the Cardinals the series in Game 4.
“I think it’s a little bush league,” Kershaw told reporters after Sunday’s 7-3 win. “But I don’t expect anything less from these guys. So, it’s no worries.”
In that fateful NLDS game, Kershaw cruised through six innings before allowing the first two batters to get on in the seventh inning, when Adams’ home run erased a 2-0 deficit and put the Cardinals up 3-2, which wound up being the final score.
The low-light was part of a troublesome trend early in Kershaw’s future Hall of Fame career when many baseball pundits speculated that the left-hander couldn’t win the big game in the playoffs.
A 10-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP, Kershaw finally got over the hump in 2020, winning the World Series in the pandemic-shortened season.
Injuries kept him from contributing to a second championship last fall, when the Dodgers defeated the Yankees, and then delayed his start to the 2025 season.
Kershaw, 37, wound up getting the last laugh on Sunday, as the vengeful Dodger legend put up his best outing of the season by allowing just one run through five innings, completing L.A.’s three-game sweep of St. Louis.
“The results haven’t always been there, but I feel like there’s been a little bit of progress in each [start],” he said. “Probably the biggest thing, I had a little bit better command.
In five starts to open 2025 — his 18th with the Dodgers — Kershaw stands at 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA and 1.55 WHIP.