LOS ANGELES -- Late into Friday night, in the aftermath of a unique sort of masterpiece in Game 2 of this National League Division Series, Clayton Kershaw was asked, with his children on both knees, if his most recent triumph provided him with an extra dose of satisfaction, given the circumstances leading up to it.
Finally, some defiance leaked out.
"Yeah, maybe," Kershaw said behind a smile. "Maybe a tick."
Kershaw, noticeably more limited these days, was pushed to the second game of these playoffs, marking the first time since he was a 21-year-old, second-year player that he was not on the mound when his Los Angeles Dodgers began the postseason.