December 6, 2018 5:29 PM PST
Harry How/Getty ImagesAs he sat before reporters in a Dodger
Stadium interview
room [url=http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-kyle-freeland-jersey]Kyle
Freeland Jersey[/url] , Clayton Kershaw kept coming back to one word:
huge.Austin Barnes' game-tying single in the fifth inning? Huge.A 5-2 win in
Game 5 to put his Los Angeles Dodgers up three games to two in the National
League Championship Series? Huge.We all occasionally get stuck on one word, but
Kershaw gets a break for one big (or should that be huge?) reason: Even in this
era where we sometimes celebrate four-inning starts, the value of a truly
dominant starting pitcher hasn't changed that much.It's still huge, which is why
what Kershaw showed Wednesday did more than simply move the Dodgers within one
win of returning to the World Series. The Kershaw who dominated Game 5 is the
ace who can lead the Dodgers to a World Series title for the first time in 30
years.He's never done it before, not in any of those three seasons when he won a
Cy Young Award, nor in the 2014 season when he was also the National League's
Most Valuable Player. We remember the games where he fell short of greatness a
lot more than the ones where he dominated, but that's all part of the burden of
being who he is and pitching for the team he represents.No one has to remind
Kershaw that the Dodgers haven't won a World Series since 1988. It came up again
in a press conference this week."No disrespect to 1988, we hear about that a
lot," he said. "And I've said it before, but we are sick of it. And it's up to
us to do something about it."It's up to all of them. Kershaw won't be starting
Games 6 or 7 this weekend in
Milwaukee [url=http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chris-iannetta-jersey]Chris
Iannetta Jersey[/url] , so he'll need to trust his teammates to get him to Game
1 of the World Series on Tuesday in Boston or Houston. He'll need help from his
hitters, just as he did after he fell behind 1-0 in the third inning
Wednesday.That was the inning in which Kershaw walked the opposing pitcher and
later walked Ryan Braun to load the bases with two outs after the Brewers had
scored. It was also the inning in which he seemed to find himself, relying on
sliders and curves to strike out Christian Yelich and Jesus Aguilar to keep 1-0
from becoming 3-0 or 4-0.Andrew Simon AndrewSimonMLBAfter struggling so mightily
to miss bats in Game 1 (5 whiffs), Clayton Kershaw has now racked up 19 swings
and misses tonight.Thats his most in a game in 2018.The eight-pitch Aguilar
strikeout ended the third, and though we didn't know it at the time, it
basically ended the Brewers' night. The 1-0 lead wouldn't hold, and they didn't
get another baserunner until Aguilar's two-out double off Ryan Madson in the
ninth.It seemed they might get Kershaw out of the game in the fifth, when
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts readied Yasiel Puig to hit for Kershaw if Barnes
made an out and the tying run remained on third base with two outs. Kershaw
assumed he would be coming out in that situation, which is one reason he called
Barnes' hit "huge."After the game, Roberts revealed he was going to stick with
Kershaw regardless.Kershaw ended up going seven
innings [url=http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-mcmahon-jersey]http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-mcmahon-jersey[/url] ,
allowing only one run on three hits with nine strikeouts. It was his 10th
postseason start with no more than two runs and no more than four hits, matching
Justin Verlander for second in history behind Roger Clemens' 11, per Baseball
Reference.Its hard to forget Kershaws past postseason failures, including 2014,
when he was the NL MVP but had a 7.82 ERA in two playoff losses to the
Cardinals.Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesGiven the way we so often talk about Kershaw
in October, you wouldn't think that. You'd think most of his starts were like
his bad Game 1 in this NLCS, the game in which he went only three innings and
gave up five runs (four earned).At his postgame press conference Wednesday,
Kershaw said he wasn't looking for redemption after that clunker, just as he
said he won't be looking back at Game 5 as a reason why he'll pitch well the
next time. He simply believes in himself and his ability to win, just as the
best starting pitchers always have.He believes it as much
now [url=http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey]http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey[/url] ,
with a fastball that topped out at 92.5 mph and averaged 90.8, according to
Brooks Baseball, as he did back when his average fastball was 93-94 mph and when
his best fastballs would come in at 96 or 97. Kershaw doesn't want to say he has
reinvented himself鈥攊n an interview that aired Wednesday,he told Fox Sports' Ken
Rosenthal that he still believes the velocity will return鈥攂ut like all great
pitchers, he knows how to win with what he has."Just a classic case of he
executed a lot of pitches," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said in his postgame
press conference.Counsell has a fine team, but what he doesn't have is a
Kershaw. Give the Brewers credit for cleverly making use of what they do have,
and even for another unconventional move Wednesday, when they started
left-hander Wade Miley but had him face only one batter before switching to
right-hander Brandon Woodruff."We were able to give Woody some matchups,"
Counsell said.The Dodgers are trying to get Kershaw another two or three
matchups鈥攊n the World Series against either the Red Sox or Astros. And he's
trying to get the World Series ring that would help define what is already a
Hall of Fame career.Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national
columnist for Bleacher Report.Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.
OAKLAND [url=http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-miguel-cabrera-jersey]Miguel
Cabrera Jersey[/url] , Calif. (AP) — Shawn Kelley was acquired by the Oakland
Athletics for international slot money on Sunday from the Nationals, who no
longer wanted the reliever after he slammed his glove to the ground and glared
into Washington’s dugout during a game.The Nationals also sent cash to the A’s
in the swap.He was designated for assignment by Washington on Wednesday, a day
after his mound outburst while pitching in the ninth inning of a 25-4 victory
over the New York Mets.Kelley entered the game with Washington ahead 25-1. He
was working quickly, and the plate umpire warned him to slow down. After the
warning, Kelley gave up a two-run homer, prompting his tantrum.Nationals general
manager Mike Rizzo explained the decision to cut ties with Kelley this way:
“You’re either in or you’re in the way. I thought he was in the way. That’s
something you don’t come back from.”Rizzo called it “a disrespectful act” and
“selfish.”Kelley, a 34-year-old righty, was 1-0 with a 3.34 ERA in 35 games for
Washington this season.He signed as a free agent with the Nationals in December
2015 and appeared in 135 games with the team.To clear a spot on the 40-man
roster, Oakland recalled outfielder Jake Smolinski from Triple-A Nashville and
placed him on the 60-day disabled list with a blood clot in his left calf.
Harry How/Getty ImagesAs he sat before reporters in a Dodger
Stadium interview
room [url=http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-kyle-freeland-jersey]Kyle
Freeland Jersey[/url] , Clayton Kershaw kept coming back to one word:
huge.Austin Barnes' game-tying single in the fifth inning? Huge.A 5-2 win in
Game 5 to put his Los Angeles Dodgers up three games to two in the National
League Championship Series? Huge.We all occasionally get stuck on one word, but
Kershaw gets a break for one big (or should that be huge?) reason: Even in this
era where we sometimes celebrate four-inning starts, the value of a truly
dominant starting pitcher hasn't changed that much.It's still huge, which is why
what Kershaw showed Wednesday did more than simply move the Dodgers within one
win of returning to the World Series. The Kershaw who dominated Game 5 is the
ace who can lead the Dodgers to a World Series title for the first time in 30
years.He's never done it before, not in any of those three seasons when he won a
Cy Young Award, nor in the 2014 season when he was also the National League's
Most Valuable Player. We remember the games where he fell short of greatness a
lot more than the ones where he dominated, but that's all part of the burden of
being who he is and pitching for the team he represents.No one has to remind
Kershaw that the Dodgers haven't won a World Series since 1988. It came up again
in a press conference this week."No disrespect to 1988, we hear about that a
lot," he said. "And I've said it before, but we are sick of it. And it's up to
us to do something about it."It's up to all of them. Kershaw won't be starting
Games 6 or 7 this weekend in
Milwaukee [url=http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chris-iannetta-jersey]Chris
Iannetta Jersey[/url] , so he'll need to trust his teammates to get him to Game
1 of the World Series on Tuesday in Boston or Houston. He'll need help from his
hitters, just as he did after he fell behind 1-0 in the third inning
Wednesday.That was the inning in which Kershaw walked the opposing pitcher and
later walked Ryan Braun to load the bases with two outs after the Brewers had
scored. It was also the inning in which he seemed to find himself, relying on
sliders and curves to strike out Christian Yelich and Jesus Aguilar to keep 1-0
from becoming 3-0 or 4-0.Andrew Simon AndrewSimonMLBAfter struggling so mightily
to miss bats in Game 1 (5 whiffs), Clayton Kershaw has now racked up 19 swings
and misses tonight.Thats his most in a game in 2018.The eight-pitch Aguilar
strikeout ended the third, and though we didn't know it at the time, it
basically ended the Brewers' night. The 1-0 lead wouldn't hold, and they didn't
get another baserunner until Aguilar's two-out double off Ryan Madson in the
ninth.It seemed they might get Kershaw out of the game in the fifth, when
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts readied Yasiel Puig to hit for Kershaw if Barnes
made an out and the tying run remained on third base with two outs. Kershaw
assumed he would be coming out in that situation, which is one reason he called
Barnes' hit "huge."After the game, Roberts revealed he was going to stick with
Kershaw regardless.Kershaw ended up going seven
innings [url=http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-mcmahon-jersey]http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-mcmahon-jersey[/url] ,
allowing only one run on three hits with nine strikeouts. It was his 10th
postseason start with no more than two runs and no more than four hits, matching
Justin Verlander for second in history behind Roger Clemens' 11, per Baseball
Reference.Its hard to forget Kershaws past postseason failures, including 2014,
when he was the NL MVP but had a 7.82 ERA in two playoff losses to the
Cardinals.Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesGiven the way we so often talk about Kershaw
in October, you wouldn't think that. You'd think most of his starts were like
his bad Game 1 in this NLCS, the game in which he went only three innings and
gave up five runs (four earned).At his postgame press conference Wednesday,
Kershaw said he wasn't looking for redemption after that clunker, just as he
said he won't be looking back at Game 5 as a reason why he'll pitch well the
next time. He simply believes in himself and his ability to win, just as the
best starting pitchers always have.He believes it as much
now [url=http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey]http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey[/url] ,
with a fastball that topped out at 92.5 mph and averaged 90.8, according to
Brooks Baseball, as he did back when his average fastball was 93-94 mph and when
his best fastballs would come in at 96 or 97. Kershaw doesn't want to say he has
reinvented himself鈥攊n an interview that aired Wednesday,he told Fox Sports' Ken
Rosenthal that he still believes the velocity will return鈥攂ut like all great
pitchers, he knows how to win with what he has."Just a classic case of he
executed a lot of pitches," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said in his postgame
press conference.Counsell has a fine team, but what he doesn't have is a
Kershaw. Give the Brewers credit for cleverly making use of what they do have,
and even for another unconventional move Wednesday, when they started
left-hander Wade Miley but had him face only one batter before switching to
right-hander Brandon Woodruff."We were able to give Woody some matchups,"
Counsell said.The Dodgers are trying to get Kershaw another two or three
matchups鈥攊n the World Series against either the Red Sox or Astros. And he's
trying to get the World Series ring that would help define what is already a
Hall of Fame career.Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national
columnist for Bleacher Report.Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.
OAKLAND [url=http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-miguel-cabrera-jersey]Miguel
Cabrera Jersey[/url] , Calif. (AP) — Shawn Kelley was acquired by the Oakland
Athletics for international slot money on Sunday from the Nationals, who no
longer wanted the reliever after he slammed his glove to the ground and glared
into Washington’s dugout during a game.The Nationals also sent cash to the A’s
in the swap.He was designated for assignment by Washington on Wednesday, a day
after his mound outburst while pitching in the ninth inning of a 25-4 victory
over the New York Mets.Kelley entered the game with Washington ahead 25-1. He
was working quickly, and the plate umpire warned him to slow down. After the
warning, Kelley gave up a two-run homer, prompting his tantrum.Nationals general
manager Mike Rizzo explained the decision to cut ties with Kelley this way:
“You’re either in or you’re in the way. I thought he was in the way. That’s
something you don’t come back from.”Rizzo called it “a disrespectful act” and
“selfish.”Kelley, a 34-year-old righty, was 1-0 with a 3.34 ERA in 35 games for
Washington this season.He signed as a free agent with the Nationals in December
2015 and appeared in 135 games with the team.To clear a spot on the 40-man
roster, Oakland recalled outfielder Jake Smolinski from Triple-A Nashville and
placed him on the 60-day disabled list with a blood clot in his left calf.