09/20/25 12:01:00
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09/20 00:00 CDT Clayton Kershaw soaks in the applause in his last
regular-season start at Dodger Stadium
Clayton Kershaw soaks in the applause in his last regular-season start at
Dodger Stadium
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Clayton Kershaw pitched the final regular-season home game
of his 18-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, welcomed and sent
off with standing ovations a day after announcing his decision to retire at
season's end.
Kershaw's longtime warmup song, "We Are Young" by Fun, blared as fans held up
camera phones to capture the moment as the game began. The cheers quickly
turned to boos when San Francisco Giants leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos turned on
an 86-mph slider for a 431-foot home run.
But the cheers returned after Rafael Devers took a called third strike leading
off the fifth. Manager Dave Roberts came to the mound and hugged Kershaw as his
teammates on the field, in the dugout and in the bullpen joined the sellout
crowd of 53,037 in applauding the 37-year-old left-hander as he departed.
Kershaw left with the Dodgers trailing 2-1. He gave up two runs and four hits,
struck out six and walked four in 4 1/3 innings on 91 pitches, 56 for strikes.
The defending World Series champion Dodgers rallied for a 6-3 victory to clinch
their 13th consecutive postseason berth.
He waved and then wrapped his arms around himself in a hug gesture to the
crowd. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani stepped forward to hug Kershaw, one of
many he received from everyone in the dugout. With fans clamoring, Kershaw came
out for a curtain call, slowly turning around and soaking in the scene.
Fans donned No. 22 jerseys in a salute to Kershaw, although Ohtani's No. 17 was
prominent as usual.
Kershaw was surrounded by teammates, his pregnant wife Ellen, who was in tears,
their four children, and fans who've watched him work his way through the
Dodgers' farm system to reach the majors at age 20 and go on to win three Cy
Young Awards as well as two World Series championships.
Also on hand were former teammate Russell Martin, who caught Kershaw's major
league debut in 2008, and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who
was Kershaw's high school football teammate in Texas.
"This is one of those moments that people are going to look back and go, ?I was
there for the last time he started a home game at Dodger Stadium,'" Roberts
said before the game.
Kershaw, a Dallas native who lives there in the offseason, has spent his entire
18-year career in Los Angeles.
"In a world that people take the easy way out, chase short money, the grass is
greener kind of adage, the loyalty part of it is just not what it used to be,"
Roberts said. "Clayton lives by those values and it means something for him to
wear the same uniform. That's where I gained a lot of respect for him."
Among Kershaw's milestone moments in the city was reaching 3,000 career
strikeouts in July.
The Dodgers added a Kershaw bobblehead to their promotional schedule in July
after he reached the milestone and the item will be given out Saturday. He will
address the fans before Sunday's game.
"Everybody who is just a fan is going to wrap their arms around Clayton
Kershaw," teammate Freddie Freeman said. "He deserves everything he's going to
get from the fans."
While his velocity has dipped in recent years, Kershaw's famed competitive fire
still burns brightly.
"Winning is always my favorite thing," he said.
Kershaw has battled injuries in recent years that made getting to this point
all the harder. He missed the entire postseason last year, when the Dodgers
beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
"Not a lot of people get this opportunity," he said, "so I'm just super
grateful for it."
Roberts said it was too early to say whether Kershaw would make another start
next week, when the Dodgers visit Arizona and Seattle to conclude the regular
season.
___
This story has been updated to correct that this will be Kershaw's last home
start in the regular season, not his last regular-season start overall.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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