Clayton Kershaw makes feelings known after Dodgers' frustrating loss vs Guardians

Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the Cleveland Guardians in the series finale on Wednesday at Progressive Field. The NL West team's two-game winning streak snapped as the Guardians came from behind for a 7-4 win to avoid a series sweep.

Veteran ace Clayton Kershaw, who made his third start of the season in the series finale, provided a solid base for the reigning World Series winners despite not being at his best.

Kershaw went five innings deep, allowing a run over six hits and striking out three hitters. While the numbers point to a strong start, Kershaw admitted it wasn't "good enough." The three-time Cy Young winner regretted not providing enough cover for the bullpen that imploded late in the game.

"I'm fighting some stuff mechanically and different things," Kershaw said, via SportsNet LA. "I was able to make a few pitches here and there to get through five, but obviously wasn't pitching good enough to be able to stay in the game which makes the bullpen have to throw more innings.

"Frustrating for sure, but I think at the same at the time there's some progress still, more reps. Overall, to only give up 1-run and pitch that bad is a good thing."

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The Dodgers led 4-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. However, Lou Trivino, Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia failed to contain the Guardians as the bullpen conceded six runs, five in the eighth inning, to surrender the game.

Dave Roberts acknowledged Clayton Kershaw's gritty display

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged that it wasn't Clayton Kershaw's best game but he felt the veteran ace did enough in his five innings to push the Dodgers close to win.

"It wasn’t his best stuff but he found a way to limit damage and compete out there,” Roberts said. “He willed himself through five innings. I thought he got a little better in the last couple innings and did enough to help us win a game.”

Kershaw's three strikeouts in the game took him closer to a major MLB milestone. After Wednesday's game, Kershaw is 26 strikeouts away from becoming the 20th pitcher with 3000 career strikeouts.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash