WASHINGTON — He seems misplaced in time, a nine-inning mind in a profession where six innings have become praiseworthy.
You could see Clayton Kershaw fitting in quite well with Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn and Jim Maloney, with nobody counting pitches and nobody warming up. They reset the innings on the scoreboard and he’s still pitching.
“He’s a gunslinger,” A.J. Ellis, his former catcher, used to say. “He wants you to swing and miss.”
Kershaw works Game 1 of Friday’s Division Series against Washington, whose Game 1 pitcher is Max Scherzer, National League leader in innings, major league leader in strikeouts.