As expected, the Dodgers are starting Clayton Kershaw in tomorrow night’s World Series Game 1, the team announced to reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times). The three-time Cy Young winner will oppose Rays fireballer Tyler Glasnow.
Kershaw hasn’t started since Thursday’s NLCS Game 4, so he’ll be going on normal rest. The 32-year-old is no longer the sport’s best pitcher, but he put together another fantastic season in 2020. Across ten starts, Kershaw pitched to a 2.16 ERA with high-end strikeout (28.1%), walk (3.6%) and groundball (53%) rates. He’s been similarly strong this postseason, allowing seven runs in 19 innings with a stellar 23:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Assuming the Dodgers don’t want to pitch Kershaw on short rest, this would also set him up to take the ball in Sunday’s Game 5. Unlike the past few rounds, the World Series has scheduled off days on Thursday and next Monday.