The days of people writing off Clayton Kershaw as merely a dominant regular season pitcher are officially over. The ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers struck out 11 batters in a classic performance in Game 1 of the World Series, leading his team to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
Kershaw was masterful all game, repeatedly getting called strike threes as the powerful batters of the Astros had no answer for his array of pitches. He likely could have pitched far deeper into the game, but with the Dodgers’ formidable bullpen healthy and available, there was no need to stretch the team’s ace.