Clayton Kershaw dominated the Brewers with seven scoreless innings and nearly cruised through the eighth. He walked a batter to start the frame, but didn’t seem fazed. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and the pitching coach looked ready to make a move, with Roberts signaling for a mound visit. Kershaw saw it, smiled, and waved it off. He made his case clearly without saying a word. Then he went back to work.
With two strikes on the next hitter, Kershaw picked off the runner at first, a sharp move that caught everyone by surprise. The call stood after review. Two outs, two strikes, and Kershaw stayed calm, even stopping to clean his cleats. He stared down the batter, looked around, and threw pitch number 93. Strike three, inning over. Kershaw made a case to stay in the game every step of the way and backed it up with his performance.