LOS ANGELES – His palms up, his expression unseen but imaginable, Clayton Kershaw confronted Don Mattingly in the Dodgers’ dugout midway through Thursday’s fifth inning, facing away from the TV cameras, gesticulating wildly and appearing irate.
He had given up three runs, but he had thrown only 80 pitches, and he had struck out nine and walked just one. He wanted at least another inning. Mattingly wanted a pinch-hitter to begin the Dodgers’ half inning, wanted to preserve his ace with a likely playoff start two weeks away. So he removed his ace and braced for the onslaught.