It was all over but for the formalities less than ten minutes into the game.
As the sun set behind the San Gabriel mountains and the palm trees swayed behind the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium, a familiar feeling sunk deep into the stomachs of Dodgers fans across the globe:
Dread. Disaster. Disappointment.
It was another Clayton Kershaw meltdown, and yet another postseason downer for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks hit four homers, and won their third consecutive road game of the playoffs, in an 11-2 blowout of the Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.
"Disappointing. Embarrassing. I feel like I let everyone down," said Kershaw after the game. "...it's a tough way to start the postseason."
In the shortest start of his illustrious 16-year career, Kershaw recorded just one out and lasted just eight batters. By the time Dave Roberts came out to the mound to take the ball out of his hand, Kershaw had allowed six runs on six hits with a walk and no strikeouts.
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Most fans hadn't yet found their seats, for the ones that did, a mixture of boos and applause rang down on the future first ballot Hall of Famer.
In the same time it takes the average person to shower, the Dodgers were in need of one themselves.
The nightmare began when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte scorched a liner to center field that bounced off the palm of James Outman's glove. The drop—that should have been ruled an error—put the leadoff man in scoring position.
Corbin Carroll and Tommy Pham followed with back-to-back singles, Christian Walker doubled, and Gabriel Moreno broke the game open with a 419-foot blast for a three-run homer.
Before Kershaw could even record an out, it was 5-0 Diamondbacks and the Dodgers were left for dead. In doing so, Kershaw became the first pitcher in MLB history to allow five hits and five runs before recording a single out.
"It didn't feel great, it didn't feel great," said Kershaw of the disastrous first inning."I didn't make enough good pitches tonight."
Saturday's start was the 454th of Kershaw's career, and the 32nd in the playoffs. That's nearly an entire season's worth of starts in October. Needless to say, he picked an inopportune time to have a historically bad day.
Game 1 of the NLDS was the first time Kershaw has ever allowed five consecutive hits to start a game. It was the first time he's ever allowed six consecutive balls hit with an exit velocity of 95MPH or faster, and in a career that has had at least a dozen bad starts in the postseason, it was the first time he's allowed six runs in the first inning.
"We talked about making a statement tonight," said D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo about his team's success against Kershaw. "Collectively from the first batter on, they did a great job. Our guys are hungry."
Kershaw went on the injured list on the fourth of July with left shoulder inflammation and has been dealing with the nagging injury all season. When he returned in early August, his velocity dipped.
The Dodgers reacted by giving him more rest between starts and he continued to be effective, recording a 2.23 ERA over his final eight starts in the regular season.
But as Kershaw knows best, the regular season is not the postseason, and the demons that have haunted him throughout the last two decades reared their ugly heads once again.
"I think at times maybe in the past I had a fear of failure and didn't want to go out there and fail," said Kershaw about his past postseason disappointments. "I think now it's just a lot more positive. It's just the nerves are from an excitement to get to pitch in the playoffs, to get to be a part of it, to get to be in this moment that a lot of people in the game don't get to be in."
The Diamondbacks don't care about Cy Young Awards and adulation. Nor were they afraid of Kershaw when the lights were brightest and the moments the biggest.
Meanwhile, Kershaw's counterpart, Merrill Kelly, exorcised his own demons in the process. The right-hander was 0-11 in his career against the Dodgers, and 0-5 with an ERA of over 7.00 at Dodger Stadium in his career. His first playoff victory on Saturday, also marked his first career victory against Los Angeles.
"I'd be lying if I didn't say zero," said Kelly when asked if he thought about the fact that he had never beaten the Dodgers in his career. "I touched on it the other day when I did media. I feel like if I gave attention to those games from the past five years...I was going to go out there behind the eight-ball before I even stepped on the mound."
Kelly threw six and one-third shutout innings in Game 1, allowing just three hits with two walks and five strikeouts in his first taste of the postseason.
"I'm watching our guys beat up on one of the best pitchers that we've ever seen in our lives," said Kelly. "And I'm watching them do it in the first game I've ever pitched in the playoffs."
In addition to Moreno, Carroll, Pham, and Alek Thomas all homered for Arizona.
Will Smith knocked in the only runs of the game for the Dodgers with a two-run triple in the bottom of the eight.
Throughout the Dodgers last 11 consecutive postseasons, there have been a bevy of jaw-dropping moments that both defy believability and past precedent. The first inning on Saturday was another one of them.
"It was more shocking," Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts said about his team's performance in Game 1. "I think those guys certainly had a great game plan tonight and they executed."
Arizona now has all the momentum. They've won three straight playoff games and are in the driver's seat of the NLDS after winning the first game on the road of a best-of-five series. They have their ace, Zac Gallen, lurking, possibly able to pitch twice in the series, if necessary.
For fans of the boys in blue, it's only one loss, but now the Dodgers have to win three of the next four, including at least two on the road. If they can do that, Kershaw might have an opportunity to rewrite the postseason misery and memory of Game 1, but would he be trusted again in a potential Game 4? Or opener of an NLCS against the Phillies or Braves?
"He's going to pitch Game 4," said Roberts.
Kershaw's implosion might be the last time we see him take the mound in a Dodgers uniform, but that's not something to think about now. The Dodgers need to focus on Game 2 on Monday and try to even this series at 1-1.
They'll go from a veteran making his 32nd postseason start to a rookie making his first in Bobby Miller. The pressure on the 24-year-old will be immense, but if he performs like has all season, then Los Angeles can even this series.
Do that, and it's back to needing to win a three-game series. Something the Dodgers have done 23 different times this year.
Game 2 is scheduled for 6:07 PM PST at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
