#9 Clayton Kershaw should have been a hero of Game 5 for the Do

Clayton Kershaw should have been a hero of Game 5 for the Dodgers.The Nationals trailed by two runs in the seventh inning of the winner-take-all contest, but they had two runners on with two outs. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts summoned Kershaw who will one day be in Cooperstown for his extended brilliance as a starter from the bullpen to face Adam Eaton, a lefty- https://www.justshoplions.com/detroit-lions-women-jersey on-lefty matchup that favored the home team.And Kershaw was brilliant. He needed just three pitches to strike out Eaton, end the threat and move the Dodgers to within six outs of a spot in the NLCS.MORE: Thats where his day should have ended, a future Hall of Famer playing LOOGY in a huge postseason situation because thats what the team needed. It was, as they say, a moment.But somehow, Roberts sent Kershaw back out to open the eighth inning, despite a full and rested bullpen. And despitethat, the first batter up was right-handed hitter Anthony Rendon, an unflappable star who just might win the NL MVP this year. Oh, and in Kershaws first start this year, Rendon came to bat three times and collected a double, a single and a walk.Roberts was thinking about Juan Soto, the 20-year-old lefty who follows Rendon in the Nationals order. He wanted Kershaw,instead of right-handed reliever Kenta Maeda,to face Soto, so he let Kershaw face Rendon, too.I https://www.justshoplions.com/jarrad-davis-jerseys wanted to keep Kenta away from Soto, Roberts said after the game. So you look at what Kenta has done, he's been a righty killer and he has been throughout https://www.justshoplions.com/taylor-decker-jerseys his career. So, yeah, there's a Rendon situation, but then there's also Soto behind there.You know what happened. Rendon hit Kershaws first pitch of the eighth inning over the wall in left field for a solo homer. And then Soto crushed Kershaws second pitch of the inning way over the wall in right-center, another solo home run. All of a sudden, the game was tied.And Kershaws moment was ruined.These don't quit. MLB (@MLB) The TBS cameras focused on Kershaw in the dugout, as he sat there with shoulders slumped, wearing a look of disbelief. And even if you hate the Dodgers, any baseball fan with a semblance of a soul had to feel for the pitcher. Hed failed his team, and he was wearing those emotions ofdisappointment for all to see. And so Game 5, instead of being a brief highlight in Kershaws career, added another chapter to whats been an underwhelming postseason showing for the lefty. His regular-season ERA sits at 2.44 it was 3.03 this year, the first full season of his career its been above 3.00, which is incredible and his playoff ERA is 4.43.Contrary to what https://www.justshoplions.com/dandre-swift-jerseys the common Kershaw narrative might say, hes had great moments in October. Hes made 25 starts in the postseason, and in nine of those hes thrown at least six inning with one or zero earned runs allowed. Thats brilliant stuff in pre sure situations.MORE: But, yeah, there have been other-side-of-the-coin games, too. The starts against the Cardinals in 2013 NLCS and 2014 NLDS come to mind. Kershaw was brilliant in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series against the https://www.justshoplions.com/bobby-layne-jerseys Astros seven innings, three hits, one run and 11 strikeouts but couldnt make it out of the fifth inning in Game 5, allowing six runs. He gave up nine runs in 11 innings in his two starts against the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series.So Wednesdays Game 5 joins that list. Its not up top no matter how disappointing it is to see a 106-win season end early, its still not the World Series but its one that never should have been allowed to happen.