Defense hurts Kershaw. 186 comments


There are bad days and then there are bad days.

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal had a really bad day.

Two passed balls.

Catcher’s interference.

A missed-catch error.

And that was just the first three innings.

The Brewers scored two runs in the mostly disastrous third inning, then three more in the fourth to knock out Clayton Kershaw, and the Brewers clung on to a 6-5 victory in Game 1 of the Championship Series.

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw didn’t have a great game but his defense let him down. When you have to get extra outs and have to throw with runners in scoring position when they shouldn’t be, it alters everything. Fly balls that should have ended the inning become sac flies. And every pitch you throw has the potential to not be caught, it matters.

The catcher’s interference was the most damaging. Turning what would have been a line drive second out of the inning with runners and second and third to bases loaded, one out.

The Dodgers mounted a comeback because they are, after all, the Dodgers, and are a very good team. But in the end, the Brewers took the first game, their twelfth victory in a row.  They are up only one game to none. But this team has swagger.

Yasmani Grandal could use some of that. Or a game off.

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