Watch: Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw throws a peculiar curve ball that had Jurickson Profar swinging foolishly

With yesterday's start against the San Diego Padres, Clayton Kershaw made his 11th year of postseason appearances. If you think you've seen it all from the three-time NL Cy Young Awardee, then you are dead wrong.

During the fourth inning of Game 2 of the NLDS between his Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, Kershaw threw a baffling curve ball to Jurickson Profar that resembled either a lawn dart throw or a cricket throw.

The ball hit the dirt way before reaching the plate, and Profar swung at it in earnest. This had the Padres batter striking out before Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith blocked the ball.

Baseball experts, enthusiasts, players, and fans had a field day analyzing Kershaw's unique strike. It also set a record for being the lowest pitch to draw a whiff in the history of the league.

Kershaw ended the game having surrendered three runs on six base hits and six strikeouts. The Dodgers took the loss, but the pitch will surely be remembered for a long time.

Clayton Kershaw's playoff career

Discounting yesterday's game, Clayton Kershaw has made an appearance in 37 postseason games. The future Hall of Famer has started 30 games and has a 13-12 record with a 4.19 ERA with one save.

Kershaw has been criticized in the past for not bringing his A-game during the postseason as he's only posted a sub-3.00 ERA in six of his 20 postseason series. However, it shouldn't be forgotten that he was clinical in the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays when he posted a 2-0 record with a 2.31 ERA and was a huge factor in the Dodgers' first world title since 1988.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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