Bob Costas has called his fair share of Clayton Kershaw starts in the postseason. The longtime announcer has never seen a Kershaw outing worse than what the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher showed on Saturday.
Kershaw was pulled after recording just one out in Game 1 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
The 35-year-old gave up a total of six runs and six hits in front of his team’s home fans.
"A disastrous start for Kershaw…5-0 D-Backs and every D-Back who has faced Kershaw has delivered a hit, and they've all been hit hard." pic.twitter.com/QkMqfVvNKt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
Costas dubbed Saturday’s outing as “the worst” he’s seen from Kershaw in his playoff career. Costas made the call on the TBS broadcast as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts walked up to the mound to take the ball from his starting pitcher.
“Roberts comes to get Kershaw. He’s had a rough time before in the postseason. This has to be the worst of all those outings,” said Costas.
"Roberts comes to get Kershaw. He's had a rough time before in the postseason. This has to be the worst of all those outings."
Bob Costas on the call for a dismal Clayton Kershaw performance. pic.twitter.com/HSg92gd5bk
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
The biggest blow to Kershaw’s outing came in the form of a three-run home run from D-backs catcher Gabriel Moreno before a single out was recorded. Costas described the home run as “disastrous” for the Dodgers starter.
"A disastrous start for Kershaw…5-0 D-Backs and every D-Back who has faced Kershaw has delivered a hit, and they've all been hit hard." pic.twitter.com/QkMqfVvNKt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
Costas’ criticism was echoed by fans on social media who dunked on Kershaw’s poor track record in October.
Kershaw came into the contest with a career playoff ERA of 4.22 in 191 innings pitched. After giving up six runs with just one out on Saturday, his postseason ERA shot up all the way to 4.49 — nearly double his career regular season ERA of 2.48.
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