It is an indisputable fact that there are certain hitters that even the very best pitchers in the game absolutely hate to face. Granted, no pitcher particularly enjoys facing guys like Albert Pujols, Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Holliday, Jose Batista or Mike Trout (to name a few), but it is often times a non-superstar or a lesser-known player that seems to give pitchers – even the best pitchers – fits when they step into the batters box – especially in high pressure, potential game-changing situations.

Case in point: During Sandy Koufax’s perfect game on September 9, 1965, Cubs manager Lou Klein opted to have utility infielder Joey Amalfitano, a career .244 hitter, pinch hit for Don Kessinger, who was hitting only .211 on the season. Why Joey Amalfitano, who would later become a long-time third base coach for the Dodgers? Because Amalfitano had collected two hits off of Koufax earlier in the season. When asked later how he managed to accomplish such a seemingly impossible feat, the ever-witty Amalfitano replied “He hit my bat twice.”

For 2014 NL MVP and three-time NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw there is zero doubt who ‘that guy’ is. It is St. Louis Cardinals utility infielder/outfielder Matt Carpenter, who absolutely owns Clayton Kershaw – especially in the postseason.

Although Carpenter is only 4 for 16 (.250) against Kershaw in October, it isn’t the number of hits he has gotten but rather the timing of those hits that gives Kershaw acid reflux at the very mention of his name. Of those four postseason hits one was a double, one was a triple and one was a home run. But the absolute crusher is that those three postseason extra base hits came at the worst possible time for the hard-throwing lefty and account for five RBIs. They are also a big reason why the 26-year-old Dallas, Texas native is 0-4 against the Cardinals in postseason play.

As far as Clayton Kershaw is concerned, the next time he has to face Matt Carpenter will be too soon. Carpenter’s bases-clearing double in the 7th inning of Game-1 of the 2014 NLDS proved to be the defining moment of the series. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The thing to keep in mind – and you know it is on Kershaw’s mind – is that even though Carpenter has only been in the big leagues for four seasons, he has a career triple-slash of .290 / .313 / .548 for an impressive .861 OPS against the guy that many call “the best pitcher on the planet.” In other words, there is a very strong likelihood that Carpenter will be the cause of many additional sleepless nights for Kershaw, and don’t think for one second that Matt Carpenter doesn’t know this.

But Carpenter isn’t the only guy who has been a thorn in Kershaw’s side. Former San Diego Padres outfielder Chris Denorfia has also made life miserable for the Dodgers ace. During his nine-year MLB career (four with the Padres), Denorfia is 9 for 33 (.273) with three home runs, two doubles and 4 RBIs off of Kershaw. And even though Kersh has stuck out the 34-year-old Bristol, Connecticut native 10 times, Denorfia has also collected five walks off of Kershaw, which is very unusual.

Chris Denorfia has nine career hits off of Kershaw – three of them have been home runs.
(Photo credit – Hayne Palmour IV)

Much to Kershaw’s pleasure, the Padres traded Denorfia to the Seattle Mariners at the July 31 trade deadline this past season, so Kershaw didn’t have to face the .272 career hitter in his final two starts against the Padres in 2014.

When asked if he was glad that Denorfia was no longer in the division or the National League, Kershaw smiled and said “I’m not disappointed.”

Okay, that’s the good news. The bad news is that Denorfia became a free agent at the end of the 2014 season and on Wednesday signed a one-year / $2.5 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. And even though the Dodgers face the Cubs only seven times in 2015 (four at Wrigley Field on June 22-25 and three at Dodger Stadium on August 28-30) as opposed to… say… 19 meeting against the Padres in 2015, you can bet that Kershaw will be thinking about the five extra base hits he has given up to Denorfia in the past in his two (probable) starts against the Cub in 2015.

So who owns the best career batting average against Kershaw? That would be the aforementioned Albert Pujols, who is hitting a mere .450 against Clayton. Ironically, even thought the future Hall of Famer is 9 for 20 against the… future Hall of Famer, Pujols has never homered off of Kershaw…

Although Pujols has four career doubles off of Kershaw, he has never homered off of him.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

…not yet, that is.