Clayton Kershaw Dominates as the Dodgers Take a Series 3-2 Lead in 2018 NLCS

It was one of those days at Dodger Stadium. A day where the weather was perfect and the sky was so clear,  you could practically see into downtown Pasadena. Game five had the fans buzzing and ready to roll behind their long-time ace. Clayton Kershaw did not disappoint, and the Dodgers faithful made themselves heard from start to finish.

Clayton Kershaw, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/3uLrqtRpxe

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— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 18, 2018

All told, Kershaw tossed seven innings and allowed just one earned run to come across in the third inning. Number 22 went to the curveball far more often than we have seen this season, and it proved to be effective. He allowed three hits, two walks, and struck out nine in what may have been one of his best playoff starts ever.

The bullpen came on to close out the rest of the game. Pedro Baez added to his scoreless streak with a perfect inning in the 8th. Caleb Ferguson came on and got one batter out before Roberts turned to Ryan Madson. Madson got touched for a few hits and allowed a run to come across on the ninth before they turned to Kenley Jansen. Jansen came on and struck out the last batter to end the game.

The Bats Wake Up

Offense has been a foreign word at Chavez Ravine over the past few games, but the bats finally woke up Wednesday. Austin Barnes came up with a clutch hit in the fifth to tie the game at one after Taylor swiped third base. Max Muncy and Yasiel Puig both came up with run-scoring singles in the sixth, and the Dodgers never really looked back from there. They tallied two more runs in the seventh and ended up scoring five runs on nine hits. They also managed to draw four walks in the process.

Interesting Turn of Events

As it turns out, Craig Counsell had a little slight-of-hand planned out for this game. He started the lefty Wade Miley and pulled him after just one batter in the first. As it turns out, Counsell was trying to get Roberts to deploy all of his right-handed hitters to start the game, with plans to pitch Miley in game six. Roberts did not fall for the bait.

The Dodgers and Brewers will head back to Milwaukee for game sic and possibly seven starting on Friday. The matchup appears to be Miley against Hyun-jin Ryu in a battle of the southpaws.