Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw Reacts to 'Embarrassing' Game 1 Start vs D-backs

Kershaw's first start of the postseason could not have gone worse.

After nearly a week off from playing baseball, the Dodgers put together one of their worst performances of the season in their first outing in the 2023 postseason, losing 11-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first game of the NLDS.

Clayton Kershaw didn't complete a full inning and allowed six earned runs before getting pulled after just one out. 

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Rookie of the Year candidate Corbin Carroll drove in the first run with a single, Gabriel Moreno's home run brought the Diamondbacks' lead to 5 runs and a walk followed by yet another hit led to Dave Roberts pulling Kershaw. For the first time in his career, Kershaw failed to complete a single inning and allowed five consecutive hits.

"Disappointing. Embarrassing. You feel like you let everyone down," Kershaw said after the game. "The whole organization looks to you to pitch well in Game 1 and yeah ... it's just embarrassing, really. It's a tough way to start the postseason. Obviously, we still have a chance at this thing but that wasn't the way it should have started for me."

(Via Dodgers Nation TV)

The Dodgers' woes started on just the second pitch of the game. Second baseman Ketel Marte hit what should have been an easy lineout, but rookie center fielder James Outman couldn't complete the routine catch.

Kershaw wouldn't assign any blame to Outman for his poor play early in the game, putting the weight of the loss on his shoulders.

"There's no excuses," Kershaw said after the game. "Regardless of anything that happened out there, I have to be better. That's just not acceptable."

The Diamondbacks have some of the hottest bats in baseball currently, and Dave Roberts gave credit to them for capitalizing on Kershaw's horrific outing.

"It was a tough one. I think that obviously they took a lot of good swings. It seemed like they were on everything he threw up there. ... Usually Clayton does a great job of controlling, managing damage. And tonight unfortunately we didn't do that."

The Dodgers will enter Monday's game facing a 1-0 deficit in the best-of-five Divisional Series. Rookie pitcher Bobby Miller will face off against Zac Gallen on Monday at 6:07 p.m. PDT at Dodger Stadium.