Author: rincon

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Clayton Kershaw won’t take the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers again this year, regardless of how much further the team goes in the postseason. But he plans to return in 2025 and make the most of his surgically repaired shoulder, he told the MLB on FOX pregame show before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

“Mentally, I feel great,” Kershaw said in response to a question from David Ortiz. “I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder, elbow, everything — my arm feels great. Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year, but I want to make use of this surgery. I don’t want to have surgery and shut it down. So I’m gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes.”

Kershaw underwent shoulder surgery soon after the Dodgers’ elimination in the 2023 National League Division Series at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The recovery from that operation sidelined him until he made his season debut on July 25. He only made seven starts, however, exiting his last one on Aug. 30 in the second inning due to a toe injury. 

Kershaw attempted to rehab the injury in time to rejoin the Dodgers’ shorthanded starting rotation in the playoffs, but failed to do so and was ruled out for the rest of 2024.

“Clayton has done everything he can to keep this thing moving forward and giving himself a chance to participate in the postseason,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters then. “But where he’s at right now, physically, the foot, the toe just is not cooperating. It’s actually getting worse.”

The 36-year-old Kershaw had a 4.50 ERA over those seven starts, easily the fewest number of starts and highest ERA the 10-time All-Star has registered in his career.

Despite his absence from the playoffs, the Dodgers’ pitching staff tied an MLB postseason record with 33 scoreless innings with Kershaw watching from the dugout every step of the way. That includes a dominant 9-0 win over the New York Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday behind seven scoreless innings from Jack Flaherty, an L.A.-area native who grew up watching Kershaw.

“Just the collective effort, that’s been the coolest thing to see,” Kershaw said. “It’s been everybody. Obviously having ‘Flare’ throw last night, getting to go through seven innings, it really sets up our game today for a bullpen game, obviously. You’ve got to give our bullpen a ton of credit, what they were able to do starting with that bullpen game in San Diego [in Game 4 of the NLDS] all the way through to now. You can say so much about every guy, man. It’s been awesome to watch.”

Kershaw, both personally and as the longest-tenured member of the Dodgers, has been no stranger to playoff disappointment over the years. L.A. looked headed down a similar path, down 2-1 in the NLDS against the rival San Diego Padres. But that’s when their pitching staff’s scoreless streak started, allowing the Dodgers to rattle off three consecutive wins to not only advance to the NLCS but also take the early series lead over the Mets.

That prompted Derek Jeter to ask Kershaw what made this Dodgers team different from past years.

“It’s hard to compare years,” Kershaw said. “I feel like we’ve had great teams in the past, and no disrespect to different teams that I’ve played on in the past, too. But this year, this group of guys, it just feels really resilient. There’s no quit, whether we’re down 6-0, whether we’re up 6-0. It’s that same fight every single inning. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of, especially taking a step back and being on the sidelines watching this group of guys, you can really tell there’s a heartbeat there. It’s kind of one collective.”

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The last time the New York Yankees were in the World Series, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were manning the left side of the infield for the 2009 superteam that won the franchise’s record 27th title.

Now, both former teammates — reunited as MLB analysts at FOX Sports — are bullish on New York’s chances of making it back to the Fall Classic for the first time in 15 years, as the Yankees begin the 2024 ALCS against Cleveland on Monday.

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“You never want to say you have an … easy road to the World Series, but if the Yankees could pick and choose their [playoff] opponents,” Jeter said on FOX Sports’ postgame show after Game 1 of the NLCS. “I think they got the two that they would pick and choose because of their success against the AL Central.”

To Jeter’s point, the Yankees went 4-2 against the Guardians in the regular season. They went 5-2 against their division series opponents, the Kansas City Royals, in the regular season, then dispatched K.C. in four games in the ALDS. 

The Yankees have made four ALCS trips since they last won it all in 2009, but they’ve lost each time — once to the Detroit Tigers and three times to the Houston Astros. Despite that, Rodriguez is optimistic about the team’s chances this year.

“You don’t have to say it, I’ll say it — the Yankees have an easy road to the World Series,” Rodriguez said. “It’s never easy, but this is the clearest path in 20 years.”

While the Yankees have the AL’s best record at 94-68, the Guardians were only two wins behind them at 92-70. 

Cleveland boasts a characteristically underrated pitching staff led by star closer Emmanuel Clase as well as a lengthy lineup headlined by perennial All-Star closer Jose Ramirez. The Guardians dispatched the AL Central rival Detroit in five games in their ALDS series.

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Major League Baseball’s postseason is averaging 3.33 million viewers going into the league championship series, an 18% increase over last year’s average of 2.82 million.

The division series averaged 3.56 million viewers for 18 games, a 14% increase from last year.

Friday’s night NLDS Game 5 between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres averaged 7.5 million on FOX, FOX Deportes and streaming, the most-watched division series game since 2017.

Saturday afternoon’s deciding game between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers averaged 3.42 million on TBS, the most-watched division series matchup in a day game window (pre-4 p.m. start) in 17 years.

The game was originally slated to be played at night, but was moved up to the afternoon due to the threat of inclement weather.

FOX and FS1 averaged 4.09 million for the National League games, their highest numbers since postseason baseball began airing on FS1 in 2014. Fox also benefitted from the Phillies-Mets being the other series. The Mets advanced in four games.

TNT Sports averaged 3 million for the ALDS series games on TBS and TNT. The Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals in four games in the other series.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Jack Flaherty combined on a three-hitter and Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers tied the postseason record of 33 consecutive scoreless innings by routing the New York Mets 9-0 Sunday night in the NL Championship Series opener.

Los Angeles knocked out a wild Kodai Senga in the second inning, built a six-run lead by the fourth and matched the scoreless record set by Baltimore Orioles pitchers over the first four games of the 1966 World Series against the Dodgers.

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Backed by chants of “MVP! MVP!,” Shohei Ohtani was 2 for 4 with a walk while scoring two runs and driving in another.

Mookie Betts added a three-run double in the eighth in the largest shutout victory margin in Dodgers postseason history, also the Mets’ most one-sided postseason shutout defeat.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday. Coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App. 

Flaherty allowed two hits over seven innings in the Dodgers’ first scoreless postseason start of seven-plus innings since Clayton Kershaw’s eight innings in the 2020 NL Wild Card Series.

Flaherty left to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 53,503. The 28-year-old right-hander from nearby Burbank returned home from Detroit at the July 30 trade deadline and has been a steadying presence in a rotation hard-hit by injuries.

Flaherty retired his first nine batters, extending the Dodgers streak of consecutive hitters retired to 28, before walking Francisco Lindor leading off the fourth. New York’s only hits off him were a pair of singles by Jesse Winker and Jose Iglesias in the fifth. Flaherty struck out six.

Lindor was 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout and Pete Alonso went hitless in three at-bats with a walk and a strikeout.

The Dodgers rallied from the brink of elimination against San Diego to win the NL Division Series in five games with shutouts in the last two games.

They opened their pursuit of a record 25th NL pennant by chasing Senga after 1 1/3 innings of his just third overall start in a year decimated by injuries. The Japanese right-hander walked four of his first eight batters, including three in a row in a 14-pitch span in the first inning.

Senga walked the bases loaded with one out in the first, when just seven of his 23 pitches were thrown for strikes. Max Muncy singled up the middle, scoring Betts and a hobbled Freddie Freeman, who touched the plate with his left foot to protect his sprained right ankle. He staggered into the arms of Betts, who steadied the much bigger and taller Freeman.

Ohtani chased Senga with an RBI single in the second and the Dodgers tacked on three runs in the fourth off reliever David Peterson as Tommy Edman and Freeman had RBI singles.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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