Clayton Kershaw already announced he will retire at the end of the year, but he is still competing for another World Series title.
The Los Angeles Dodgers legend isn't set to make a start for the team in the NLDS, but he was put on the roster to come out of the bullpen. Kershaw made his final playoff debut on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, coming in with Los Angeles down 3-1 in the seventh inning.
When Kershaw came into the game, Dodgers Stadium erupted.
Clayton Kershaw enters the game as a reliever pic.twitter.com/ywtrESvCkA
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 9, 2025
Unfortunately, Kershaw couldn't deliver the fans a strong outing. Here's a look at how Kershaw performed in his first playoff game of the season.
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Clayton Kershaw NLDS appearance
Kershaw came out of the bullpen for the Dodgers in Game 3 as Los Angeles needed to get some innings out of their relievers. In his first inning of work, Kershaw allowed two baserunners with no outs, but he was able to get out of the inning unscathed.
He did get a gift, though, as some bad Phillies baserunning allowed Kershaw to get essentially a free out.
Oh no Phillies... pic.twitter.com/d7sx1VhH8m
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 9, 2025
However, that success didn't continue into the second inning. J.T. Realmuto smoked a leadoff home run off Kershaw in the top of the eight, extending Philadelphia's lead to three runs.
J.T. Realmuto, NO-DOUBTER 😤 pic.twitter.com/fe5NiBfzcV
— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2025
From there, Kershaw walked Max Kepler, and a Max Muncy error put two on with no outs, allowing Trea Turner to bring both runners in.
Trea Turner's third hit of the game makes it 6-1 Phillies! pic.twitter.com/4L58ytMtVW
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 9, 2025
Then, Philadelphia blew the game open when Kyle Schwarber hit his second home run on the night, as the Phillies scored five runs in the inning off Kershaw.
KYLE SCHWARBER GOES YARD AGAIN 😱
— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2025
IT'S 8-1 @PHILLIES! pic.twitter.com/X16tQiyJTa
Overall, Kershaw threw two innings and allowed five runs on six hits and three walks, which included the two home runs.
Clayton Kershaw postseason stats
Here's a look at Kershaw's career playoff numbers.
- Games: 40
- Starts: 32
- Innings: 196.1
- Record: 13-13
- ERA: 4.63
- Saves: 1
Kershaw's playoff career doesn't match most of his regular season success, as he has had his fair share of struggles in October. The lefty pitcher has made 32 starts in the playoffs, and eight relief appearances including Wednesday night, pitching to a 4.63 ERA in that span. For comparison, he has a career 2.53 ERA in 455 career regular season games.
Kershaw has specifically struggled in his last two postseason appearances. The pitcher's last playoff appearance came in 2023, when he six runs in 0.1 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which means he has now allowed 11 runs in his last 2.1 playoff innings.
Additionally, with the two home runs allowed tonight, Kershaw has now allowed 32 home runs in the playoffs in his career.