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Was Clayton Kershaw Put in a Position to Fail?

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Video Rating:
TV-G
Video Duration:
2:20

If Clayton Kershaw was hoping to change the narrative on his bad postseason reputation, he fell short Wednesday night against the Washington Nationals. The Los Angeles Dodgers were up 3-1 when Kershaw came in relief. After retiring the only batter he faced in the 7th inning, he returned in the 8th and gave up back-to-back home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto to tie the game 3-3. Howie Kendrick smashed a grand slam in the 10th inning to lift the Nationals to a 7-3 win and the franchise’s first-ever trip to the NLCS. Kershaw’s career postseason ERA his almost two runs higher than his regular season ERA, which raises questions about manager Dave Roberts’ choice to put the lefty in that spot. SI Now’s Robin Lundberg and Amy Campbell debate if Kershaw was set up to fail in game 5.