LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers face long odds, down 3-1 in the World Series after Saturday night's 9-6 defeat to the Red Sox and needing to win three straight games to fulfill their championship aspirations.
But there's no pitcher they'd rather lead them into that challenge than Clayton Kershaw, who will start opposite Boston's David Price in Sunday's Game 5 at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are hoping Kershaw can help make them just the eighth team out of 45 in MLB history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series with a 2-3-2 format.
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"He's Clayton Kershaw. He's the best pitcher in the game," said third baseman Justin Turner. "He's going to go out there and he's going to empty the tank for us tomorrow and give us the best chance we have to extend this thing."
Matched up against Red Sox ace Chris Sale in Game 1, Kershaw didn't make it out of the fifth inning. He was tagged for five runs on seven hits and threw 79 pitches. Kershaw relied heavily on his slider, throwing 39, and had issues with the depth of its movement. He also didn't get a lot of help from his defense.
The Red Sox made hard contact -- which Statcast™ defines as 95 mph exit velocity or greater -- on four of the six sliders they put in play against Kershaw (66.7 percent). That tied his highest single-game hard-hit rate on sliders since Statcast™ was introduced in 2015 (minimum five sliders put in play), matching the 66.7 percent he yielded in Game 1 of the 2016 National League Division Series against the Nationals.
"Well, you can't just assume it's going to be there the next time," Kershaw said about the movement of his slider. "Definitely working on it. Definitely trying to make it better. It happens from time to time in the regular season as well. I focused on it. My bullpen focused on it, playing catch. I hope it's better tomorrow."
Kershaw's struggles in the World Series opener added fuel to the perception that he isn't the same dominant pitcher come playoff time, a narrative that's followed the four time NL Cy Young Award winner throughout his career.

The lefty's numbers have dipped in October, though Kershaw has turned in some impressive outings, including Game 5 of this year's NL Championship Series and Game 2 of the NLDS. He owns a 4.28 ERA through 29 career postseason appearances (23 starts). In elimination games Kershaw has started, that ERA climbs to 6.28. Los Angeles is 15-14 in postseason games in which he has appeared.
But those narratives are of no interest to Kershaw. Neither is his legacy, as the longtime Dodgers ace can opt out of his contract this offseason and could be pitching his final game for L.A. on Sunday.
"I don't really care about legacy. I don't really care what people think of me or perceive of me," Kershaw said before Game 4. "Game 5 is a very important game to win the World Series, and I'm looking forward to pitching that game and hopefully putting us in a great spot going back to Boston. And that's really all I care about.
"All that other stuff, people are going to have their opinions, you know, and that's fine. I'm not here to change them. I'm here to pitch. And all that other stuff will take care of itself."

Regardless of what's to come, Kershaw's teammates are confident in their ace.
"He's been the best in the game for a long time, pitched in a lot of big games," said catcher Austin Barnes. "Backs up against the wall, he's our best."