Kershaw Grinds LAD to Victory in Game 5
What a difference a night makes. After last night’s game I commented that the Dodgers need to come out swinging in the 1st against Glasnow. Mookie Betts leads off with an 8 pitch double followed by a run-scoring Corey Seager single, two wild pitches and Seager gets to third. JT strikes out, Muncy walks, Smith K’s and Belli comes up and gets an infield single to score Seager. After a
What a difference a night makes. After last night’s game I commented that the Dodgers need to come out swinging in the 1st against Glasnow. Mookie Betts leads off with an 8 pitch double followed by a run-scoring Corey Seager single, two wild pitches and Seager gets to third. JT strikes out, Muncy walks, Smith K’s and Belli comes up and gets an infield single to score Seager. After a 34 pitch 1st inning, the Dodgers are up 2-0.
Joc leads off the 2nd inning and crushes a HR into the back of the left center field bullpen putting the Dodgers up 3-0 after two. Joc is an absolute beast when it comes to October. He is a money player. That was his 9th career postseason HR for LAD. I read that he is the 5th Dodger in franchise history to hit HRs in three different WS. By the time this blog post is published someone will identify the other four.
Last night was not vintage Clayton Kershaw, but more junkyard dog Kershaw. His slider was not sharp. Not nearly as many swing and miss on that slider as in Game 1. But he was tough when his back was against the wall. He did not fold when the situation got threatening as he has done in prior October outings. CK allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in each of the first four innings. In the bottom of the 3rd down 3-0, Kiermaier gets 30 foot single between the pitcher and catcher. Kershaw struck out Mike Zunino. But Yandy Diaz gets his third hit off CK with a triple scoring Kiermaier. Randy Arozarena singles Diaz home tightening the score to 3-2. CK ends the inning with a strike out (Lowe) throw him out as Arozarena was caught running on the pitch (Barnes to CT3).
Things started to look a little ugly in the fourth. Margot walks, steals second and goes to third on the missed catch by CT3. Renfroe walks putting runners on 1st and 3rd and nobody out with Joey Wendle coming up. CK gets Wendle to pop up and strikes out Adames. One out away from getting out of the inning, but that out is Kevin Kiermaier who is having a fantastic WS. But Margot, on his own, tries to steal home. Muncy calls out immediately to Kershaw, CK steps off, and throws to Barnes to get Margot out at the plate on an extremely close play. For all intents and purposes that was the game.
It looks like Tyler Glasnow is settling down, but Max Muncy absolutely kills a 99 MPH 4-seamer that caught way too much of the middle of the plate, putting the Dodgers up 4-2, the eventual final score.
CK comes out and gets his first three up and three down inning in the fifth. In doing so, he strikes out Kiermaier for his postseason career strikeout number 206 moving past Justin Verlander for #1 in postseason career strikeout list. He gets Zunino for strikeout #207, and finally gets Yandy Diaz on a ground ball to SS.
Kersh comes out for the 6th. Apparently in the dugout between innings, Doc and CK agreed that Kersh would face Arozarena and Lowe. On the first pitch, Arozarena hits a 105.4 MPH screaming ground ball to JT who makes another good defensive play to throw him out. Lowe swings at the first pitch and pops him up. Having already made up his mind, and not relenting to the JT lobbying for one more batter, Doc brings in Dustin May.
Many of us said that May and Gonsolin would both be asked to produce in critical game situations. This was a different more confident Dustin May. Dustin strikes out Manuel Margot on a 101+ MPH 4-seamer. In the 7th, May goes back out and faces Austin Meadows who is PH for Renfroe and proceeds to strike him out. Wendle goes the other way and hits a good drive into LF that Joc got a great jump on to run it down for out #2. I still submit that Joc reads the ball on balls hit at him and goes back on a ball as well as anyone (not as fast). Joc’s problems with reading balls were those in the gap. May gets Adames for the 3rd out of the inning.
The Rays relievers easily dispatched the Dodger hitters over the last two innings. The drama is going to come from the Dodgers bullpen. Kike’ Hernandez enters to play 2B and bat 8th for Joc, and CT3 moves to LF. May comes back out for the 9th and Kiermaier gets a leadoff single. Yoshi Tsutsugo PH for Zunino, who is still hitless in the WS. May gets Tsutsugo to flyout to CT3 in LF. After Ji-Man Choi is called on to PH for Diaz, May has done his job and is done for the night. VGon comes in to face Mike Brosseau who PH for Choi. Brosseau works him hard and wins the battle with a 9 pitch walk. Now VGon is in trouble with Arozarena coming up with a speedy runner in scoring position. Being aggressive, Arozarena swung at the first pitch and hit a routine fly ball to CF. Two pitches later, Brandon Lowe hits a little blooper into CF that Belli easily runs down.
The Dodgers go quietly in the 9th with Barnes drawing a 2 out walk, but Mookie strikes out on a 78.4 MPH slider.
Blake Treinen pitched in Game 3 (14 pitches), Game 4 (16 pitches), and enters Game 5 in a save opportunity. Manuel Margot greets Blake with his second hit of the night. Blake buckles down and strikes out Austin Meadows on 4 pitches with a 98.4 four4-seamer. Gets Wendle to fly out to Belli for out #2. And for good measure, Blake strikes out Willy Adames for the Dodger victory.
Kershaw is now 4-1 in the 2020 postseason, and now has a career postseason record of 13-12. He won two WS games for the first time in his career. His postseason ERA is 2.93, WHIP 0.91, with 37 K and 5 walks in 30.2 IP. Clayton Kershaw had a fantastic postseason, and when the team needed him most, he was up to the challenge and brought his team home.
Austin Barnes once again guided his pitcher through some tough situations, and had zero compunction to walk out and talk to CK when it was called for. Somebody intimated that maybe Barnes was getting too much credit because he was catching the Dodgers two best pitchers. He got the bullpen through in Game 5. He made sure that everyone was on the same page when VGon walked Brosseau and Arozarena coming up.
There was an interesting interview with Will Smith on the fateful Pedro Baez pitch where he missed badly with a fastball to Brandon Lowe. Apparently, Smith called for a change which Baez throws to lefties with great success, but Baez brushed him off and wanted the fastball. Smith said it was the pitchers choice and Baez threw the fastball that Lowe crushed. I have no idea how Barnes would have handled that, but I agree with Smith, the pitcher has to believe in the pitch he is throwing. In hindsight, maybe Smith goes out to talk with Baez to make sure. But I am not about to second guess Smith in that spot.
I was hard on Doc after Game 4, and I am not backing off that response. But the faith he shows in his players is quite often rewarded. May and Gonsolin have had a tough go of it of late. But Doc thought that May was ready for tonight, and he was right. Doc left himself open for second guessing. Even the announcers thought so. But as I wrote a couple days back, Doc was investing in his young guns and he would get a great reward on that investment. Well May paid some dividend tonight. PLEASE NO MORE FAITH IN BAEZ OR JANSEN THIS WS. Doc’s blind faith in those two pitchers has been a travesty.
The other player that he stuck with was Max Muncy. How many of us said to move him out of that #4 spot. Well if it weren’t for Corey Seager, Max would be on the short list for MVP. He is having a tremendous WS. In 5 games, he is batting .389/.522/.611/1.133.
For the WS, Joc is batting .400/.455/.700/1.155, but in a small sample size of 11 PA. For his career, in 69 games and 169 PA, Joc is batting .272/.345/.503/.849. Joc comes to play in October.
We have an off day on Monday so Blake Treinen can rest up and be ready for Game 6. The Dodgers will be the home team and are planning on sending Tony Gonsolin to start against LHSP former CY winner Blake Snell. Since Snell is LHP, we will see the RH bats. I am guessing that AJ and Kike’ will start in place of Joc and Austin. I predicted the Dodgers in 6, so I am expecting the Dodgers to bring it home on Tuesday.
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Discussion (100)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Forgot to mention that the pictures posted with the article were wonderful. Love see the game photos.
I just think Taylor and smith are mentally and physically tired. A day off will hopefully fix it. But I still want Barnes to catch. Although he didn’t get a hit Barnes hit balls right on the nose last game. Time for an unsung hero to make an appearance for the dodgers!
Wouldn’t it be great to c the Dodgers put it all together for one game and show what a great team they are!!!
It will be interesting to see the odds for Tuesday. For me I think the Rays are the favorites in game 6 and we see a game 7. Unless our bats step up second time around against Snell. We’re gonna need 5-6 runs on Tuesday. Time for Mookie and Belly to deliver..
Very nice write-up, AC. Thank you for providing a day by day recap and analysis. Good game last night. Kershaw was strong and successful in his efforts to keep us in the game even knowing he did not have his best stuff. Nice to see Joc hit that home run and make that good catch in the 7th. Sure wish the Dodgers would give him a new contract.
Agree about Will Smith needing a rest not only from being the DOH, but catching. Still rooting for him though.
Good luck to the Dodgers on tomorrow’s game. Let us end this series with a big win.
I am not down on Smith because he or Muncy made an error. It’s about the way he calls a game. Can he get better? Yes! But, the WS is not the time to try. Barnes makes a difference! Also, you have to look at what is in the Dodgers’ system. Ruiz, while a switch-hitter, is much better LH. I have no idea how Ruiz has progressed this year, but the Dodgers could sure use a RH bat at 3B or 2B in a strongly LH lineup.
I believe Smith can be a Gold Glover and I believe his game-calling will get better. One has to wonder what role Smith played in Jansen’s and Baez’s demise…
2021:
1. Betts RF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner DH
4. Muncy 1B
5. Smith 2B
6. Bellinger CF
7. Pollock LF
8. Rios 3B
9. Barnes/Ruiz C
Great win last night especially for Kershaw. Finally, a postseason without a giveaway game from him. He gutted up without his best stuff and got the job done. But, the first thing I thought after the game is that “We should be celebrating tonight if Doc wasn’t an idiot.”
It will be a tough one on Tuesday against Blake Snell. We’ll see how he does with his back against the wall. With that said, I do NOT deviate from the equation with respect to the starting lineup. That means Will Smith is in. You are asking for trouble with Kike, Taylor and Barnes in the same lineup IMO.
My biggest question is where the hell is Jake McGee? I find it odd that we don’t see a guy that has a great fastball against a team that doesn’t hit fastballs well.
I also have no problem using Baez, to start an inning, without inherited runners. They better save Treinen for the 9th for the remainder of the games. No one else is up to the task. I’m not sure what to do with Jansen.
I was hoping Wood would start on Tuesday after what he did the last time out. But, I’m not opposed to going with the “Cat Man”. Short leash, then lots of lefties to turn around their left handed hitters.
I don’t want to see Kershaw come out of the pen. In fact, I would much rather see Urias come out of the pen if necessary. Bullpen rested, lots of options for the next two days.
I feel real good about taking the trophy home. I also thought Dodgers in 6 before the series. Then I thought it would be 5, forgetting the inevitable give-away game. The Rays are a gritty team, albeit less talented. There’s going to be a ton of pressure on them with Bueller looming for game 7 if necessary.
Sorry Mark, I can’t resist. With all due respect, calling for a position change for a 25 YO catcher with a career 937 OPS with less than a full season of MLB experience, who his “Genius” GM called a future Gold Glover is beyond silly and it is obviously coming from your over infatuation with Kay-Bear. It is beyond frustrating to see you write things like that, but at the same time is why I love reading your posts. You are more like an everyday fan than an analyst and that’s what makes you, you. Which keeps this site fresh and different. I watched that crappy throw from Muncy at least ten times yesterday. He choked, and threw a sweeping slider to the plate from 60 feet. Even if he caught the ball, he would have never been able to put down the tag.
I was glad to hear Joe Buck provide an unfiltered narrative of Kershaw’s 2017 performance. He clearly listed why his game 5 performance was due to sign stealing.
I am hopeful for Gonsolin to go 5 and Buehler to go 6, but I would not be surprised to see a bullpen game on Tuesday and if so it will be all pen hands on deck to finish out 2 games if needed. With that, we will likely see both Jansen and Baez, so, I hope they can get 3 outs each in low leverage situations. Hopefully we finish this quickly.
Don’t know what’s wrong with Smith but I agree it’s time to bench him. And let’s hope Mookie and Bellinger finish strong. This team looks a lot different with those two making so many outs.
My confidence level remains high.
When a manager tries to give a player confidence by playing him when he is struggling isn’t he also not playing someone else who deserves to play? When he has blind faith in a player does that send a signal that he’d rather gamble on that player than use someone else?
We all know that trust must be earned, and for Roberts to trust Kenley or Baez w the game on the line isn’t blind faith, is not smart!
Do not bring in Beuhler or Kershaw to close, who are not used to closing. Let Treinen finish. Yes, no more Baez or Jansen unless we are 10 runs up. This is not a time to play favorites. Win it with the players who are doing the job. Also Doc, do not pull Gonzo after one inning if he gives 1 or 2 runs. Usually starting pitchers struggle in first inning. Show some confidence in your young guns.
2,3,4,6,and 7 I agree Mark. We may not and should not c Baez and Kenley. If Baez is so ignorant to shake off the catcher from change to fastball he need not get in. Baez 5 or 6 only. Kenley nah. We got May, Gonzalez, Treinen, bazooka. and Kolarek for 7,8,9 both games if necessary. I would not use Buehler out of the pen based on his earlier relief work.
1. I think that Beaz and/or Jansen will have to contribute at some point… even if it is in the 5th inning.
2. I do not want to see Smith behind the plate again this World Series unless Barnes’ arm is hanging by a tendon. 2.3 Runs versus 7 Runs for Smith. This is not a hard decision. Smith looks lost at the plate anyway… maybe he needs to sit Game 6 and pinch-hit?
3. I think some of you are fixated on “Bullpen ERA” too much. To me, it’s “ERA Period” and the Dodgers team ERA is 4.03 while the Rays is 5.57. The Rays have given up 29 runs while the Dodgers have given up 21.
4. The Rays are scrappy, but the Dodgers are clearly better.
5. The Dodgers have no closer, but you will see Kenley again in this series.
6. Mookie and Belli need to get it going – it’s their time!
7. Just my opinion, but if Cody was in CF for Game 4, I think the Dodgers would have won!
8. I wrote this 3 days ago: “[May & Gonsolin] learned something, got some experience and will be VERY useful before this series is over” Their stuff is too good. Yes, they are young and so are many of the Rays pitchers. I believe that May and Gonsolin will rebound. WHY? Look at their stuff. They have been good in the past.”
Would like to see Barnes not Smith starting
Bear, I also expect to see a very different Tony Gonsolin this evening. Question: do you think they’ll bring back Dustin May to pitch an inning or two in game 6? Does he have enough gas in the tank?
And Jorge, I agree, I would let Buehler pitch the 9th with a lead. No reason to tempt fate with Jansen, and Kersh has already shaken off the demons of the past. He has nothing more to prove.
Kershaw didn’t have his best but he got the job done. I think Gonsolin is going to pitch a very good game tomorrow.
One question: If the Dodgers are leading Tuesday by 3 or more runs, who’s coming for the 9 inning? Jensen to try to get his honor back? Kershaw to finally get that damn ring he’s been denied so much? Or Buehler? I don’t think we would see someone else. I would go with Walker B because CK already has 2 wins, he has already demonstrated his quality, he is the only multiple Cy Young winner who does not have a world series ring, he no longer has to prove anything!
Dustin May was a different cat tonight. He came out with guns blazing, attacked the zone, and his pitches were crisp. Maybe Taylor’s lack of success at the plate is affecting his glove. He has missed a couple the last few days. Mookie just missed getting to Diaz’s hit and cutting it off, so he ended up on third. Another close one and a nail biter. But they get the win and hopefully 88 will become a distant memory and we can move on. Snell is a good pitcher, but they scored 2 and knocked him out before he could qualify for the win. And there will be no bottom of the ninth for the Rays now. I look for Gonsolin to be much sharper and more like the pitcher we saw earlier in the year. Yeah Jeff. Rub it in about the weather being 90. It is still snowing here.
Thanks for these wonderful write-ups, Jeff! Great to see how they came back from adversity. I hope this also changes perceptions of CK’s post-season career. He has pitched a great post-season this year. Really carried the team on his back when they needed him. They say the test of a pitcher is how they pitch when they don’t have their best stuff. Kersh passed that test with flying colors. One more to go!