If this was it, if Clayton Kershaw never pitches another game for the Dodgers, two images will forever define his time here.
One will be of him four years ago, standing erect on the Dodger Stadium mound with his arms raised straight up after registering the final out of a no-hitter.
The other will be of him bent over, his back to home plate and his hands on his knees, as a baseball he threw an instant earlier soared over the outfield wall. Kershaw struck that pose Sunday night, just as he did in the World Series last year and a couple of other Octobers before that. By now, his moments of postseason anguish blend together.
Once again, the greatest pitcher of his generation failed to grasp the World Series championship that has eluded his otherwise spectacular career.
Kershaw lost his second game of this World Series, which was won by the Red Sox, four games to one. He pitched the first seven innings of the 5-1 defeat at Dodger Stadium, allowing four runs on three homers.
The ending was familiar, except this didn’t feel like any of his previous failures. This felt more conclusive. This felt like the end of an era.
Part of that was because there is a very real chance he won’t be on this team next year. Kershaw has a provision in his contract that grants him the right to void the two remaining years on his contract and become a free agent. His understanding was that he had three days to decide.
“I haven’t made the decision yet,” Kershaw said.
What he did say was that he expected to speak to the Dodgers in the three-day window about the possibility of extending his contract, which guarantees him $65 million over the following two years.
“I think we’ll have some conversations, for sure,” he said.
But it’s not only his possible entry into the open market that has marked the passage of time. It’s how he pitched, not only Sunday, but this entire season.
He rarely missed bats. His fastball was down in the 90-91-mph range, not much faster than his slider.
Even as he was slowed by injuries in recent years, he still resembled the old-school workhorse he was when he was younger, the indomitable force who used to pitch 230-plus innings over 30-something starts in the regular season and demand to take the mound on three days’ rest in the playoffs. Not this year. He finished the regular season with a 9-5 record and 2.73 earned-run average but looked significantly diminished. At best, he was a pitcher still in the process of adapting to a newfound reality.
Kershaw can return next year — the guess here is the Dodgers will extend his contract by a couple of years — but the version of Kershaw in his physical prime won’t. And in this era of analytics and bullpenning and not allowing the starter to face a lineup for a third time, the Dodgers might never produce another pitcher like that again.
So Game 5 was a farewell. And like most endings in sports, it was brutal. In the first, Kershaw threw a 91-mph fastball to Steve Pearce on the outer half of the plate that was deposited into the left-field pavilion for a two-run home run.
More than the pitch to Pearce, Kershaw lamented the slider that Andrew Benintendi singled in the previous at-bat. Kershaw was ahead in the count against Benintendi, 0-2.
“You’ve got to get that slider in the dirt,” Kershaw said. “He didn’t hit it hard, but he shouldn’t be able to make contact on a 0-2 slider. I left that one up. That’s what costs you. The solo homer in the first, you can deal with that one.”
The home run Red Sox starter David Price gave up to David Freese in the first inning, Kershaw pointed out, was a solo home run.
And that was why Kershaw and the Dodgers played with a 2-1 deficit for the majority of the night. From the start of the second inning to the end of the fifth, Kershaw faced the minimum number of hitters. Price was also in control, however, as he allowed only three hits over seven innings.
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Dodgers’ Manny Machado strikes out as Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez charges to the mound to celebrate winning the 2018 Word Series. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and coach Bob Geren pack up as the Red Sox celebrate winning the 2018 Word Series. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox starting pitcher David Price joins starter-turned-reliever Chris Sale and catcher Christian Vazquez in celebrating a 5-1 win over the Dodgers to clinch the World Series title. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodger players can only watch in the ninth inning as the Red Sox go on to win the championship in Game 5. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Red Sox celebrate winning the 2018 Word Series at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox players celebrate beating the Dodgers 5-1 and winning game five and the World Series. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The Red Sox celebrate the championship after defeating the dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez and starter-turned-closer Chris Sale celebrate winning the World Series after the final out of Game 5 at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello, left, and catcher Christian Vaszuez hug after winning the championship. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig looks on from the bench as the Red Sox carry a 5-1 lead late in Game 5. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers players look on from the bench as the Red Sox carry a 5-1 lead late in game five. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw enters the dugout after pitching seven innings. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Clayton Kershaw rests in the dugout after giving up three home runs over seven innings in Game 5 of the 2018 World Series against Boston. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce celebrates his second home run of the game against the Dodgers during the eighth inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers relief pitcher Pedro Baez puts his gloves on his head after giving up a solo homer to Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce in the eighth inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox starting pitcher David Price reacts after getting Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig to ground out in the seventh inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Clayton Kershaw gets a pat from manager Dave Roberts after giving up four runs and seven hits in Game 5 of the 2018 World Series. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox right fielder J.D. Martinez, left, is congratulated by teammate Xander Bogaerts after hitting a home run in the seventh inning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers center fielder Enrique Hernandez can’t reach a J.D.Martinez homer in the seventh inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw surrenders a sixth inning solo homer to Mookie Betts. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw reacts after a solo home run by Red Sox center fielder Mookie Betts during the sixth inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw surrenders a home run to Red Sox right fielder J.D. Martinez. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox center fielder Mookie Betts connects for a solo home run off Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw during the sixth inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw watches as Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts hits a solo homer in the sixth inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes looks away as Red Sox center fielder Mookie Betts celebrates after crossing home plate during his home-run trot in the sixth inning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is tagged out by Red Sox pitcher David Price at 1st base to end the 5th inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig drops his bat and helmet in the infield after flying out to end the fourth inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, Matt Damon, Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck watch Game 5 at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers David Freese slides into third with a third inning triple as Red Sox’s Rafael Devers makes a late tag. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers David Freese rounds second base on a third inning triple. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox pitcher David Price reacts after giving up a solo home run to Dodgers David Freese in the 1st inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers David Freese celebrates his solo home run as Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez looks away in the first inning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox starting pitcher David Price grimaces as Dodgers first baseman David Freese hits a solo homer in the first inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers first baseman David Freese reacts after hitting a solo homer in the first inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers David Freese homers in the first inning in game five. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw warms up in the outfield before facing the Red Sox in Game 5 of the World Series. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers Manny Machado reacts after striking out in the first inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Red Sox Steve Pearce, center, celebrates his two-run home run aganinst the Dodgers in the 1st inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Ddogers Manny Machado complains to home plate umpire Jeff Nelson afgter striking out against the Red Sox in the 1st inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw follows the flight of the ball on Steve Pearce’s first inning two run homer. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw wipes his face as he leaves the mound after giving up a two-run home run to Red Sox’s Steve Pearce in the first inning. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Fomer Dodger pitcher Orel Hersheiser waves to the crowd before the first pitch in Game 5. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts chats with reporters in the dugout hours before game five. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw warms up in the outfield as the Budweiser Clydesdales pass by before the start of Game 5 at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Clydesdale horses trot along the warning track before the start of Game 5. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The only time the Dodgers seriously threatened Price was with one out in the third inning when right fielder J.D. Martinez lost a fly ball by Freese in the lights.
The ball dropped on the edge of the warning track and Freese was gifted a triple, but Justin Turner and Enrique Hernandez failed to drive him in.
“David pitched a great game and I got outpitched,” Kershaw conceded.
In the sixth, Kershaw served up a solo home run to Mookie Betts that extended the Red Sox’s lead to 3-1. That was the blast that made him double over.
He gave up another home run in the seventh inning, this one to Martinez. The Dodgers now trailed 4-1. The inning was the last Kershaw pitched for the Dodgers in this game, maybe ever.
His final line: Seven innings, seven hits, four runs, five strikeouts, no walks. He threw 92 pitches, 66 of them for strikes.
“Whatever happens, happens,” closer Kenley Jansen said. “This is a business. At the end of the day, he just has to see what’s good for his family. Hopefully, for me, he will be here next year.”
Kershaw has appeared in 30 playoff games, including 24 starts, over eight postseasons. He is 9-10 with a 4.32 earned-run average.
Jansen downplayed the unremarkable numbers.
“He never gives up,” Jansen said. “I’m proud of Kersh, how he went about his business to help his team win ballgames.”
And when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed his players after the loss, he mentioned Kershaw by name.
“Wearing this jersey, Clayton exemplifies what it is to be a Dodger and to be a man of character,” Roberts said.
So while most observers picture Kershaw raising his arms after no-hitting the Colorado Rockies or slumping over in response to giving up a home run in the playoffs, those closest to him probably imagine something else when they think of him. Like his intensity on game days. Or how he punished himself in the weight room. Or how he ran almost every day in the outfield before many of his teammates arrived at the stadium.
dylan.hernandez@latimes.com
Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez
