Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw: Everything People Say About Postseason 'Is True'

Clayton Kershaw's postseason struggles appeared again during the Los Angeles Dodgers' 7-3 loss to the Washington Nationals in Wednesday's Game 5 of the National League Division Series, and he admitted he let his teammates down in the aftermath.

"I let down the guys in the clubhouse," he said, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. "That's the hardest part every year. When you don't win the last game of the season and you're to blame for it, it's not fun."

"Everything people say is true right now about the postseason," Kershaw added, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. "I understand that. Nothing I can do about it right now. It's a terrible feeling. It really is."

Kershaw entered the game in the seventh inning with a 3-1 lead after Walker Buehler was largely brilliant in 6.1 innings of work. While he notched a critical strikeout with two runners on to end the frame, he allowed back-to-back home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto in the top of the eighth to give up the lead.

It led to extra innings, and Howie Kendrick's grand slam in the 10th inning off Joe Kelly proved to be the difference.

This is far from an isolated incident for Kershaw.

He gave up nine earned runs in 11 innings in last year's World Series loss to the Boston Red Sox. He allowed four earned runs in five innings in the final game of the 2016 National League Championship Series loss to the Chicago Cubs. He allowed six earned runs in 4.2 innings in a critical Game 5 loss to the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series.

The southpaw's postseason ERA entering Wednesday's game was 4.33, which stands in stark comparison to his career regular-season ERA of 2.44.

Manager Dave Roberts revealed he was not motivated by analytics and instead said Kershaw "is a guy I believe in" when discussing his decision to go to the typical starter, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

It's hard to doubt Roberts' trust in Kershaw considering he is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, National League MVP, five-time ERA champion and eight-time All-Star. He is well on his way to the Hall of Fame and is one of the best pitchers of his generation.

However, the playoff struggles are real, and they cost the Dodgers a chance at the NLCS on Wednesday.