When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts exited the visitor’s dugout at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, to remove Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw from Game-5 of the 2020 World Series with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday night, he did so to a loud chorus of boos from the 11,437 in attendance – most of whom were wearing Dodger Blue – and understandably so. After all, the 32-year-old Dodger ace from nearby Dallas had limited the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays to only two runs on two hits while walking two and striking out six, having made only 85 pitches, of which 56 were strikes. But those boos immediately turned to a standing ovation as the future Hall of Famer walked off the field.

As you would expect, Dodger fans from around the globe took to social media and lambasted Roberts for pulling Kershaw – something he has done several times over the past four seasons with terrible results – thus earning him the nickname ‘Doctober.’

As it turns out and much to the surprise of those Dodger fans at Globe Life Field and around the world, pulling Kershaw with two outs in the sixth inning was exactly the plan that Roberts – and Kershaw – had made before the sixth inning even began.

“Yeah, that was the plan,” Kershaw told reporters (via Zoom) after the game. “We talked about it before the inning, and even though it was just two pitches, which made it seem super fast, and two outs and nobody on, we stuck with the plan. So, credit to Doc for that one, and [Dustin] May came in and threw the ball awesome and Víctor [González] the same way and Blake [Treinen], too. Unbelievable job by those guys tonight, which is huge.”

“I just felt, we felt, that he was at the end and he just had enough to get two hitters,” Roberts confirmed. “To go to Dustin for [Rays left fielder] Manuel Margot, we talked about it and he held up his part of the deal and got two hitters and we didn’t say how many pitches. We said two hitters. That was what we agreed upon.

“He just grinded. He willed himself to that point. And I will say that wasn’t his best stuff, but he found a way to get outs and I give him all the credit.”

As seems to happen every time Kershaw takes the mound – postseason or otherwise – he set yet another MLB record on Sunday night; this one for the most career postseason strikeouts in MLB history at 207, besting the 205 set by Justin Verlander in 2019.

When asked about what it was like to walk off the field in a World Series game to a standing ovation, Kershaw said exactly what you would expect him to say.

“It feels pretty good. Yeah, I mean it feels pretty good,” Kershaw answered. “I think any time you can have success in the postseason it just means so much. It’s what you work for, it’s what you play for in this month. I know what the other end of that feels like too, so I’ll definitely take it when I can get it.”

After Saturday’s devastating ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike loss to the Rays, fans enjoying the game at the drive-in viewing party at Dodger Stadium were ecstatic when their beloved team took an early lead in Sunday’s contest.

“You can hear the crowd making noise and honking horns,” said former Dodger great Rick Monday, who was broadcasting the game on AM 570 from the Ravine when Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy hit his fifth-inning solo home run to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead and the eventual final score.

After an off-day on Monday, the Dodgers will send right-hander Tony Gonsolin to the mound on Tuesday for Game-6 of the best-of-seven 2020 World Series in hopes of bringing the City of Angels their first World Series title in 32 years.

Play Ball!

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