MLB 2017

The first time through the Astros' order, Kershaw didn't do anything special. He fed the Dodgers a steady diet of fourseam fastballs, using curveballs and sliders when he got ahead in the count. Kershaw threw 20 fourseams, four curveballs and eight sliders his first time through the order. He used the curveball twice on 0-1 pitches, once in a full count and once in a 1-1 pitch. He never had a negative outcome. The thing that makes Kershaw's curve special is how different it is from any of his other pitches. It has a looping 12-6 action that makes it very difficult to sit on. He throws it higher in the zone than most pitchers, but due to arc you frequently see batters either take it or get on top of it for an easy groundout.

... That wasn't the case on Tuesday. Kershaw threw 13 fourseams, one twoseam, four curveballs and 12 sliders to Astro batters their second time to the plate. It isn't often we see a left-handed pitcher become so reliant on his slider, but it was effective. The downward and in breaking action jammed up right-handed hitters, whereas lefties never had a chance on the sweeper. Kershaw's lone twoseam of the game was an 0-2 pitch at the knees of Josh Reddick for a called strikeout in an at-bat where Reddick took three consecutive strikes.