Clayton Kershaw on Game 1 Struggles: 'I Made Some Mistakes' vs. Red Sox

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw couldn't point to one thing that caused his struggles against the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday:

"I made some mistakes, but you know, like I said, my slider wasn't very good tonight, didn't have a lot of depth on it," Kershaw said. "Yeah, I made some mistakes in the zone, too, that they made me pay for. Yeah, just all the way around, it wasn't a great night."

The Dodgers ace allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings in the Red Sox's 8-4 win.

Manager Dave Roberts agreed on the problems with the pitcher's stuff Tuesday.

"Slider didn't have depth, fastball command wasn't there," Roberts said of Kershaw, per Arash Madani of Sportsnet.

The left-hander finished with three walks in limited action, his most in any game this postseason. He walked more than one batter in a start only six times this season, and he had more than two walks only three times.

These types of postseason struggles aren't new for Kershaw, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted:

Considering he has a 2.39 career ERA in the regular season, this is a significant drop for the three-time Cy Young Award winner.

In the 2018 postseason, Kershaw has now failed to escape the fifth inning in three of his five starts, although the other two were absolute gems.

There is no denying Kershaw is as good as they come when he's at his best. However, his inconsistency in the postseason has hurt the Dodgers once again.