Gästebuch » What do Clayton Kershaw and pumpkins have in common?

They both get carved up in October. Is that a bit of a cheap shot? Sure.Does the Los Angeles Dodgers ace deserve it after yet another embarrassing performance on the October stage? Yes.To put a finer point on it: After Kershaw's latest flop Friday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series Adrian Peterson Jersey Elite , it's worth wondering if he'll ever cement his status among the greatest pitchers of all time.In a scant three innings against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, Kershaw coughed up five runs (four earned) on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.Most damningly, he surrendered a game-tying home run to Milwaukee reliever Brandon Woodruff, who was hitting from the left side.Ouch.Jae C. Hong/Associated PressIt was far from the dominant showing the Dodgers were counting on and teed up a 6-5 Brewers victory.There's plenty of series left. Los Angeles can bounce back, and Kershaw will almost assuredly pitch again.But it was yet another checkered chapter in Kershaw's up-and-down postseason history. Great as he's been overall, his bumpy playoff resume is a significant blemish on his permanent record.After Friday's outing, Kershaw's career postseason ERA sits at 4.26 in 133 innings. That's enough of a sample size to draw conclusions, and they aren't great.In fact, they're downright mediocre.All too often under the game's brightest lights, Kershaw has wilted.No one denies he's a generational talent. He's won three NL Cy Young Awards, an NL MVP trophy and amassed50.7 WAR since 2011, according toFanGraphs, easily the highest total of any pitcher during that span.In March 2017, The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh made a credible case for Kershaw as a historically special arm, in the company of hallowed http://www.washingtonredskinsteamonline.com/adrian-peterson-jersey , top-tier Hall of Famers.With all that stipulated, he needs to do it now. He needs to dig in his heels and prove his mettle when the pressure and stakes are cranked up to eleven.Kershaw is 8-8 in the postseason after laying an egg in Game 1 against the Brewers. That's the definition of mediocre and wholly unbecoming a transcendent player.The Dodgers showed resilience Friday despite Kershaw's ho-hum effort and made it a game to the bitter end. They might come back against the Brewers regardless of Kershaw's contributions, though defeating the defending champion Houston Astros or potent Boston Red Sox in the World Series will be a taller task.Jae C. Hong/Associated PressLos Angeles hasn't hoisted a Commissioner's Trophy since 1988. Kershaw has done incredible things in Dodger blue, but he hasn't carried his club across the finish line.Listen to what he told reporters after the Dodgers' Game 7 loss to the Astros in the 2017 Fall Classic: "Maybe one of these days, I won't fail, we won't fail and we'll win one of these things. There's only one team that can succeed. There's only one team that wins the last game, so that's tough."Setting aside the defeatist language, he's right. It is tough. So were the four errors the Dodgers committed in their Game 1 loss. There was blame to go around, as Mike Petriello of MLB.com noted:Mike Petriello mike_petrielloFeels like the loud part here is going to be quot;Kershaw loses a postseason gamequot; and the quiet part will be quot;... and the Dodgers forgot how to play defense, entirely.quot;A big blame scoop must be heaped on Kershaw's plate, however. He was asked to summon greatness, and he responded with a less-than-replacement-level effort.His average fastball velocity dipped to 91.4 mph this year from a career average of 93.8 mph. He's wrestled with back and arm injuries and will turn 31 in March.If you're searching for red flags, you can find them.On the other hand, he's carved up enough big leaguers to deserve a seat at the all-time greatness table. Recall, he twirled eight shutout innings in a division-series win Oct. 5 against the Atlanta Braves. On the other Authentic D.J. Swearinger SR Jersey , other hand, after another playoff face-plant, he remains a pumpkin.Is that a cheap shot? Sure.Is it also accurate until further notice? Yes.All statistics current as of Friday and courtesy of FanGraphs. Kyle Hendricks ended his August with one of his best starts in 2018. The right-hander will try to carry that success into September and help the Chicago Cubs grow their lead in the National League Central on Saturday night.Hendricks and the Cubs are facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the middle game of a weekend series at Citizens Bank Park. Right-hander Zach Eflin will be on the mound for Philadelphia.The Phillies, who haven’t won any of their last seven series, beat the Cubs 2-1 on an Asdrubal Cabrera walk-off homer in Friday night’s opener. Philadelphia (72-62) narrowed its deficit to two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East after the victory.Article continues below ...Despite the Friday loss, the Cubs (79-55) have still won eight of their last 10 games. Their lead was four games over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central after Friday’s loss.Hendricks was part of the Cubs’ recent success in his last outing, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds while giving up just two hits. It was the third time in 27 starts this season that Hendricks has thrown seven or more shutout innings.Hendricks (10-10, 3.86 ERA) has pitched seven innings in both of his last starts, giving up just two runs in the outings. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said one of Hendricks’ off-speed pitches has made a significant difference.“The difference for me is the deception on the changeup is back,” Maddon told reporters after Hendricks’ last start. “The arm speed on the changeup is there, and it’s not just a take pitch anymore. They’re not reading it like they were earlier this season, so that’s a big part of his success.”Hendricks, 28, is 3-2 with a 3.58 ERA and 0.949 WHIP in five career starts against the Phillies. He allowed five runs across five innings when he faced Philadelphia on June 5.Eflin (9-5, 3.99) D.J. Swearinger SR Jersey Elite , meanwhile, has struggled recently. He has a 6.46 ERA and opponents are hitting .352 with a .917 OPS against him in his last three starts.He surrendered five runs (three earned) and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings of a loss to the Washington Nationals during his last start on Monday.“Honestly, I thought I threw the ball pretty well,” Eflin told MLB.com afterward. “I thought we did a good job of mixing it up. We had some good sequences going, utilized my changeup a lot tonight, which was big. It was a huge step for me being able to throw it that many times, for it to look that good. But at the end of the day, I lost the game.”Eflin beat Hendricks and the Cubs in that June 5 game, going 7 2/3 innings while giving up just one run and eight hits. Eflin, a 24-year-old who has never pitched a major league game in September, is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA against the Cubs in two career starts.