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By Jon Weisman
The postgame interview with Clayton Kershaw added awkwardness to injury, as he led a swarming media contingent in search of room to breathe, starting at his locker, moving just outside the clubhouse, then near an unused stairwell in the adjacent hallway.
Downcast, Kershaw was asked if he was in shock after a 6-1, sixth-inning Dodger lead had become a 10-9 defeat. But surprise had nothing to do with the responsibility he felt.
“I’m not in shock,” Kershaw said. “I feel terrible. It’s an awful feeling to let your teammates down.
“We have a great team. If I don’t get in the way, we’ve got a good chance of winning that game.”
Kershaw said the heat was not a factor, and he dismissed speculation about stolen signs or tipped pitches, saying that “it was a discredit to the other team.”
Matt Carpenter, the Javert to Kershaw’s Jean Valjean
Questioned about whether Kershaw had been left in the game too long, Don Mattingly felt it was simple.
“Pretty easy decisions, actually,” Mattingly said. “It’s really hard to take Clayton out.
“Obviously they got some hits (but) he’s still throwing strikes, still going after guys. But I think with Clayton … you always feel like he’s going to get out of it, he’s always going to rebound. In a sense he does: He gets (Pete) Kozma and he gets (Oscar) Taveras, and he has got (Matt) Carpenter (0-2) and you feel like he’s going to get him. And obviously Matt did a nice job fighting off and finally got to him.”
Carpenter, who drove in four runs in Kershaw’s last two innings after delivering the turning point at-bat in Game 6 of the 2013 National League Championship series, said he had no magic formula for conquering Kershaw.
“It seems like every time I face him, I’m down 0-2 and I’ve got to fight my way back,” Carpenter said. “He’s a real tough guy to face. I can’t tell you why I’ve been able to have some success against him, because it’s not easy. I don’t enjoy facing him.”
Michael Green
Of course Kershaw feels terrible, and of course he shouldn’t. He didn’t let anybody down. And I stand by my comment in the Skyfall post.
oldbrooklynfan
Man, these postseasons are not getting any easier. It’s a tough game to swallow but we have to. Like always, as hard as it is, we just have to turn the page and put it behind us as we usually do. It’s toughest for Kershaw but he’s got to do the same.
winnipegdave
Kershaw understandably feels like he let the team down and all the attention is on him for the loss. Wainwright, the other 20 game winner pitching last night, stunk it up even worse (Kershaw game score of 36, Waino game score of 21) and yet it feels like nothing is sticking to him about his lousy performance. If Kershaw is unsure whether the team wants him to pitch a possible game 5, Wainwright would be an even less obvious choice for the Cardinals.
Thai (@TweetleMeThis)
At least three former major leaguers are attesting that Kershaw has been tipping his pitches. Harold Reynolds, Marlon Anderson, and now Danny Graves: http://www.120sports.com/video/v97498882/kershaw-tipping-his-pitches