Clayton Kershaw has pitched in the MLB for 18 years, and on Wednesday night he did something he’s done only four times in that span: he came out of the bullpen. In a game with massive playoff implications for both Kershaw’s Dodgers and their opponent the Arizona Diamondbacks, the future Hall of Famer entered a tie game in the bottom of the ninth and delivered a scoreless inning to push the game to extra innings.
The Dodgers went on to win 5-4 in 11 innings.
Kershaw hasn’t pitched out of the bullpen since 2019, but in the heat of a playoff race, the veteran was willing to do something out of the ordinary for the good of his team.
“It’s an adrenaline rush for sure,” Kershaw said. “Relieving is a different animal all together. Kind of have to figure out how to maintain your heartbeat and get going. It is a lot of fun and it’s fun to have success out there.”
Kershaw picked up two ground outs and a fly out to deliver a 1-2-3 inning for LA. The eventual win brought the Dodgers to the brink of clinching the NL West as the San Diego Padres fell to the Milwaukee Brewers and are now two and a half games back of LA with just four days remaining in the regular season.
The Dodgers win also held Arizona out of jumping into the third and final Wild Card slot in the NL. The Diamondbacks are tied with the Cincinnati Reds, both one game behind the slumping New York Mets for that final postseason berth.
Kershaw Ready to Accept Whatever Role He’s Given
As October looms in the near future, Kershaw spoke on his recognition of where the pitching staff is as the team enters the postseason. The Dodgers rotation consists of Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Emmett Sheehan. If you weren’t counting while reading that sentence, that’s six starters, meaning at least one will be forced into a bullpen role in October.
Kershaw is willing to accept that role if it is put in front of him.
“Well look, we have six amazing starters… I can do the math,” Kershaw joked. “I want to be a part of it in any way so I’ll do whatever they want me to do.”
“I don’t think any of us really know what it’s like in October yet, but I had a long time off in between starts so instead of throwing a bullpen, I threw in the game [Wednesday].”
Whether Wednesday’s bullpen appearance was just a way for Kershaw to get game pitches in between starts or a sign of what’s to come in October, he is committed to doing whatever it takes to help his team in the postseason.
A true veteran mindset.
Kershaw Announces Retirement Following 2025 Season
The second-longest tenured MLB player announced that he would be retiring at the end of this season last week. Kershaw made his final start at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 19 and walked off the mound to a heartwarming standing ovation.
Kershaw will finish his career with two World Series rings, three Cy Young awards, one MVP and 11 All-Star nominations, all with the Los Angeles Dodgers
He will look to finish his storied career with the Dodgers with another World Series ring, in any role the team needs him to fill.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Dodgers Star Clayton Kershaw Sounds Off on Move to Bullpen appeared first on Heavy Sports.