SEATTLE – Once more with feelings – lots of them.
As he finished his warmup routine before Sunday’s game and headed towards the Dodgers dugout at T-Mobile Park, Clayton Kershaw stopped to lean into the stands and get hugs and greetings from his wife and four children, long-time pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and good friend and former teammate A.J. Ellis, all gathered for the occasion of Kershaw’s final start.
When Kershaw turned to walk away, the team’s social media cameras caught the 37-year-old veteran rubbing at the tears in his eyes.
Then Kershaw went to work one last time, doing what he has done as well as any pitcher of his generation. The future Hall of Famer held the Seattle Mariners scoreless into the sixth inning. His teammates gave him parting gifts — two-run home runs from Hyeseong Kim and Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani’s 55th homer of the season — and sent Kershaw out a winner for the 223rd time as the Dodgers finished their regular-season schedule with a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
The sweep in Seattle this weekend completed a 15-5 sprint to the finish by the Dodgers who won 93 games this season, their lowest full-season total since 2018 (92). They will host the Cincinnati Reds in a best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. First pitch each of the first two days will be 6:08 p.m. PT.
Kershaw’s last dance Sunday could potentially be the final time he throws a baseball for the Dodgers.
Before the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Kershaw will not be on the team’s roster for the Wild Card Series. After throwing 94 pitches Sunday, he would not be realistically available to pitch out of the bullpen before a Game 3 on Thursday.
Beyond that, Roberts said, it’s difficult to predict the Dodgers’ needs.
Kershaw’s baseball future after that, however, is set.
When he is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years from now, his plaque will be full. It will list 2,855 1/3 innings pitched, 451 games started (tied for 87th all-time), 223 wins (tied for 74th), 3,052 strikeouts (20th all-time, fourth among left-handed pitchers), a career ERA of 2.53 (second-lowest by any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched since 1920) and a winning percentage of .699 (best of any pitcher since 1920) to go with 11 All-Star selections, three Cy Young Awards (2011, 2013 and 2014) and one Most Valuable Player award (2014).
His farewell performance Sunday was a good one. Kershaw allowed just four hits while striking out seven, including the final three batters he faced.
After striking out Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh to end the fifth inning, Roberts sent Kershaw back out for the sixth inning. Kershaw struck out Eugenio Suarez and Roberts sent Freeman (already pulled from the game) out to make the pitching change. Kershaw got hugs from his teammates before leaving the mound, then doffed his cap as the crowd acknowledged his exit with a brief ovation.
The Dodgers have not announced their starting rotation for the Wild Card Series but Roberts said after Sunday’s game that “(BIake) Snell is a good bet” for Game 1.
“That’s a little teaser, I guess,” Roberts said.
Ohtani was not in the lineup on Saturday but he did throw a bullpen session — consistent with a Game 1 start. Snell threw his bullpen session Sunday morning. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has not started on less than five days’ rest this season, setting him up for either Game 2 or 3.
Ohtani returned to action Sunday and went 3 for 5 with a single, double and his 55th home run (breaking his personal and franchise record set last season). He scored two more runs, finishing the season with an MLB-leading 146 runs scored.
