Clayton Kershaw aims to become the winning pitcher in fall baseball for the first time in a long time.
The LA Dodgers’ opponent in the 2023 U.S. Major League Baseball postseason National League Division Series was set to be the Arizona Diamondbacks. The game will be held today, the 8th (Korean time).온라인카지노
Arizona defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 in the first game of the wild card decision on the 4th and won 5-2 in the second game on the 5th, confirming their advancement to the next series.
The team waiting in the National League Division Series is the Dodgers. The Dodgers won the National League West Division title this year with 100 wins and 62 losses in 162 games.
Last year, the Dodgers’ fall was short. They failed to advance to the Championship Series with 1 win and 3 losses in the National League Division Series.
Kershaw, who started in Game 2 of the Division Series last fall, wasn’t bad, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, 6 strikeouts, and no walks in 5 innings, but the scoring support was disappointing.
Kershaw’s most recent postseason win came in 2020. At that time, the Dodgers advanced from the division series. They defeated the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves and won the World Series with 3 wins and 2 losses against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Kershaw pitched in 5 games that year, taking the center stage for the Dodgers with 4 wins, 1 loss, and an ERA of 2.93. He is aiming for a postseason victory again for the first time in three years.
It seemed that this challenge would not be easy. This year, the Dodgers lost key pitchers including Tony Gonsolin, Walker Buehler, and Dustin May due to injuries. The Dodgers had to hold on by their gums.
It would not have been strange to give rookie pitcher Bobby Miller a chance on this fall’s stage, but in the end, Manager Roberts gave Kershaw the first game. Miller boasts a fastball of up to 160 km/h, and Kershaw’s recent speed stays in the mid-140 km/h, but there is a difference in experience.
Miller recorded 11 wins, 4 losses, and an ERA of 3.76 in 22 regular season games this year. Kershaw’s pitching pace was not good at the end, and there was great concern about the drop in velocity, but it was all erased.
While Arizona’s starting pitcher has not yet been revealed, the Dodgers announced Kershaw as the starting pitcher for Game 1.
Kershaw performed as an ‘ace’ this year with 13 wins, 5 losses, and an average ERA of 2.46. He was getting older and tried to hand over this position to colleagues such as Gonsolin and Buehler, but bad news about injuries followed one after another.
In addition, one of the key starters, Holyo Urias, left the team due to domestic violence issues. Veteran Kershaw brought in the starting lineup this year. He also showed some reliable pitching.
Is it because of this? Instead of a pitcher who can throw 160 km, Coach Roberts puts forward Kershaw, who has experienced many hardships.