The ball spun off his glove in defiance. Clayton Kershaw spun through the air in frustration.
It was happening again. It was the seventh inning of an elimination game and it was happening again, the best pitcher on the planet imploding again, the Dodgers season cratering once more.
Leading off the seventh inning of a Dodgers' must-win Game 4 of the National League division series Tuesday night, the New York Mets' Yoenis Cespedes hacked a bleeder about 30 feet down the third-base line, where it ticked off the glove of pitcher Kershaw.
Moments later, Cespedes was standing on first, nearly 45,000 Mets fans were on their feet and the Dodgers' 3-1 lead was caught between Kershaw's history and histrionics.