Clayton Kershaw treated Dodger fans to a strikeout on his final pitch Friday night and left the field to raucous cheers in his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium.
It ended with a fastball, dotted on the lower edge of the zone to strike out Rafael Devers looking. It was the first out of Friday’s fifth inning and perhaps the final pitch Clayton Kershaw will ever throw at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw, who announced his retirement at season’s end, dispersed hugs with the infielders upon seeing Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts emerge from the dugout to remove him from his final regular-season home start. Roberts, his manager the past 10 years, shook Kershaw’s hand, wrapped him in a hug, shared some words, then watched as the eventual Hall of Fame left-hander soaked in a raucous standing ovation from a sold-out crowd.
Kershaw lifted his hat to the fans, hugged his teammates in the dugout, then came out once more for a curtain call.
Kershaw, 37, wasn’t at his best in this matchup against the San Francisco Giants. He walked four, navigated several prolonged at-bats and allowed a couple of runs. But, as he has so often these last few years, he found a way to navigate a game and left his team with a chance to win.
