At Dodger Stadium, what began as a nostalgic moment quickly turned into a painful one for fans of Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The crowd of over 53,000 roared when the left-field bullpen gates opened and the future Hall of Famer jogged out to the mound in the eighth inning. But by the time J.T. Realmuto launched a leadoff home run, the cheers turned into stunned silence.

The Philadelphia Phillies, facing elimination, stormed back to life with a five-run eighth inning that propelled them to an 8–2 victory — keeping their postseason hopes alive and halting Los Angeles’ momentum in the National League Division Series (NLDS).

“Just didn’t make enough good pitches,” Kershaw said postgame. “It’s hard when you’re trying to throw strikes instead of getting people out. It just wasn’t fun.”

Kershaw, who announced earlier this year that this will likely be his final MLB season, was brought in as an emergency reliever. With Tanner Scott absent due to personal reasons and two other lefties already used, manager Dave Roberts turned to his veteran ace to keep the game close.

Initially, the plan worked. Kershaw ended the seventh inning cleanly, inducing a lineout from Brandon Marsh. But in the eighth, everything unraveled. Realmuto’s blast was followed by a walk, an error from Max Muncy, and a pair of sharp singles from Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber, whose towering two-run homer all but ended the contest.

“It was hard to watch,” said Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts. “But we can’t let two innings define his legacy. He’s one of the best to ever do it — a first-ballot Hall of Famer. If you think otherwise, you don’t understand baseball.”

This marked Kershaw’s first postseason relief appearance since 2019 — a moment many fans would rather forget. In that infamous outing, he gave up back-to-back home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto, costing the Dodgers the NLDS against the Washington Nationals.

Wednesday night’s repeat felt cruelly familiar.

The Dodgers’ bullpen woes have become a recurring October storyline. Ranked 21st in ERA during the regular season, the relievers have been inconsistent throughout the playoffs. With Emmet Sheehan, Roki Sasaki, and Tyler Glasnow all unavailable due to rest or starting duties, Kershaw’s entry was a gamble Roberts had little choice but to make.

“Clayton didn’t have a great slider tonight,” Roberts said. “His command wasn’t there, and that’s tough when you’re facing a team like the Phillies. We asked him to give us length — maybe too much.”

Kershaw faced nine batters in the eighth inning, falling behind in the count to six of them. Each mistake was punished. Trea Turner’s clutch two-run single found a gap in right-center, and Schwarber’s moonshot — his second of the night — sealed the Dodgers’ fate.

“We knew they’d fight,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “That’s who we are. This team doesn’t quit.”

Still, despite the setback, Los Angeles leads the series 2–1 and will look to close it out in Game 4 with Tyler Glasnow on the mound.

For Kershaw, however, the outing was another painful reminder of baseball’s harshest truth — even legends can falter.

“You just try to make the next pitch,” Kershaw reflected. “It’s part of the game. But when you’re not locating, it doesn’t matter how much experience you have.”

Whether or not he gets another appearance in Dodger blue remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: Clayton Kershaw’s career, despite its postseason scars, remains one of the most accomplished in modern baseball history.
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