Clayton Kershaw vs Dallas Keuchel promised to be a fantastic match-up and absolutely did not disappoint. I spoke to my mother before the game and I asked her if she was excited for the game and she said she maybe was going to leave it on in the background, muted because she couldn’t stand to listen to Joe Buck (Not that I can blame her on the last part). I told her she absolutely MUST watch the game. This was her one big chance to watch the best pitcher in MLB by a mile. While there is a lot of good pitchers in the league, there is only one that’s truly historic. I said that much like how Mike Trout is still overlooked because he plays when most of the country is asleep and ESPN can’t seem to travel west of Chicago, if Clayton Kershaw played for the Yankees or the Red Sox, you wouldn’t even know who Aaron Judge was. (Also, why the fuck on day 1 of the World Series am I still seeing stories about Aaron Judge? Move on people!)
Clayton thankfully did not make me look foolish, but that’s only because I did not have to stand in the box against him. Kershaw went 7 innings, struck out 11 and threw just 83 fucking pitches. 57 of those for strikes. It was a performance that could only be described as masterful and beautiful and everything that makes me love the game. Here is the best pitcher making the best offense in the game look absolutely foolish.
Kershaw would have made history if not for one mistake pitch that was left a little up and a little over the middle to Alex Bregman in the 4th who deposited the ball over the left field bleachers. That homerun tied the ballgame, and proved to be the last time the Astros even thought about touching home plate or pretty much any other bag for the rest of the night.
Two innings later, Justin Turner with his masterful beard, stepped to the plate on a 103 degree night and put the Dodgers up ahead for good with a blast that made LA look like a baseball town, even if for just one night.
After the game, I received a text from my mother thanking me for encouraging her to watch the game. She agreed that Kershaw was the best she’s seen in ages. (For her sake, I’m not going to provide you with the names she was throwing out there, but trust me, it’s an impressive list.) I was incredibly thrilled she enjoyed the game as much as I did, as I hope you did. Even if you are an Astros fan, and the game didn’t go the way you wanted it to, you have to admit it was one hell of a performance. It’s a shame that Keuchel had to take the loss, as he pitched rather well, but when you go up against Kershaw, you quite simply have to take it to another level. Tonight’s game two will feature Justin Verlander facing off against Rich Hill and promises to be equally as entertaining. Personally I really hope Houston takes this one. I got the match-up I had hoped for when the playoffs started and I’d really, really love to see this one go the full 7 games.
Fan Interference 
Astros fanboy checking in to agree with you, Scouts. A really epic pitcher’s game. Crisp, clean defense and two very good pitchers controlling the action. I liked everything except the result. Kershaw is living proof that you don’t have to throw above 95 to be the game’s best pitcher.
I think I miscalled the Keuchel pitch to Turner last night. It looked to me like the ball was spinning as it came in, so I thought he hung a slider. In retrospect I think he just tried to get Turner to swing on some high cheese and, unfortunately, he got his wish. Props to Turner.
And Springer wears the Golden Sombrero. I’ll say it again. If Springer and Reddick go MIA at the plate the Astros are still good enough to beat the Yankees. But not the Dodgers.
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It’s hard, because as a fan, you really hate losing, but honestly, it’s really hard to hate when the other guy just is that good. You have to respect the talent. It’s a lot better getting honestly beat than if you had an opportunity to win and blew it or made costly errors. Houston is a good team and a fun team and I trust they will have their day to shine.
LA is absolutely stacked this year. It’s not even fair. But that’s what happens when a team combines the ability to throw a ton of money around with smart talent decisions.
Houston I love because they built their team from the ground up, and for that I hope they win game 7. But I really want to watch Kershaw pitch one more time.
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Here’s a little known picture of Justin Turner in the off season.
Hopefully the Astros bats can come to life against Hill. I know the Astros offense was great in the regular season but I thought they should have made a pitch for JD Martinez in July. How would he look in that line up in place of Reddick now? The scary thing for the Astros is with rest days in the schedule, Kershaw can start game 5 and get 2 days rest for a possible relief appearance in game 7 if it goes that far.
Hopefully JV can stay on his hot streak tonight. This almost feels like a must win for the Astros tonight since they have to win one in LA at some point. Being down 2 – 0 would really increase the pressure going home.
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Another look at Turner:
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Well he sure looks like a nice guy in pic #1. I guess pic #2 is him mentally preparing for battle?
As for me I am no expert in fashion, but I think the current “fashion” of cave man beard is quite overdone. I think it should be over and done.
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Martinez would be great in LF. I think Reddick will come back around, but Marwin Gonzalez is coming back down to earth from a career year. They may have to try Fisher in left.
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Thanks for posting the videos, Scouts; Kabletown had its third outage in the last 18 days here, so I missed the first four and a half innings.
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Justin Turner winter baseball camp.
Justin Turner with his thagomizer.
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Why do you continue to run your potty mouth. Do you actually think it’s cool? Clean it up and you will improve your writing immensely.
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