Dallas Keuchel pitched a nice game for the Astros on Tuesday in Game 1 of the World Series, but sometimes it just doesn't matter. In the first World Series game of his career, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw threw seven innings, gave up a run (on a solo home run) on three hits and racked up 11 strikeouts. In short, it was a dominant performance, highlighted by how effortless he made it look.

Kershaw had pitches on the black all night, and he used his curveball to freeze batters expertly. It was arguably his best performance of the postseason, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The key was how he used his offspeed pitches to keep batters off-balance, but the reality was that he didn't do much differently than he does during the regular season.

First time through the order

The first time through the Astros' order, Kershaw didn't do anything special. He fed the Dodgers a steady diet of fourseam fastballs, using curveballs and sliders when he got ahead in the count. Kershaw threw 20 fourseams, four curveballs and eight sliders his first time through the order. He used the curveball twice on 0-1 pitches, once in a full count and once in a 1-1 pitch. He never had a negative outcome. The thing that makes Kershaw's curve special is how different it is from any of his other pitches. It has a looping 12-6 action that makes it very difficult to sit on. He throws it higher in the zone than most pitchers, but due to arc you frequently see batters either take it or get on top of it for an easy groundout.

However, the name of the game was the fourseam the first time through. Kershaw was locating the ball perfectly early on, never missing his spots. The life on the pitch made it very difficult to hit, and it was nearly always on the corners. So much so, in fact, that we saw Kershaw's strike zone start to expand as the game went on a bit. His slider was used as a mix-up pitch, rather than a punch-out one. That would become apparent as the game wore on as well.

Second time through the order

Kershaw's second time through the order is when he's arguably the most dangerous. Some may have heard about Kershaw's struggles in the seventh inning -- that's often because the third time through the order he's already thrown everything but the kitchen sink at a lineup. That wasn't the case on Tuesday. Kershaw threw 13 fourseams, one twoseam, four curveballs and 12 sliders to Astro batters their second time to the plate. It isn't often we see a left-handed pitcher become so reliant on his slider, but it was effective. The downward and in breaking action jammed up right-handed hitters, whereas lefties never had a chance on the sweeper. Kershaw's lone twoseam of the game was an 0-2 pitch at the knees of Josh Reddick for a called strikeout in an at-bat where Reddick took three consecutive strikes.

This time through was also where Kershaw made his only mistake of the game -- an elevated fourseam to Alex Bregman that Bregman took yard in the fourth inning. Of Kershaw's 38 fourseams, 27 were at the thighs or lower, which is a brutal pitch to hit. Bregman's was just one that got away, about belt-high on the meaty part of the plate. After that pitch, Kershaw got back on track. Eight of his next nine pitches were breaking balls, which is more in-line with his MO the second time through the order. A lot of sliders and the occasional curveball. Although both pitches break in, they do so in different ways, making them more effective.

Third time through the order

This is where, historically, Kershaw starts to struggle. It could be because he's deep in a game and is getting tired or it could be wanting to mix things up and getting carried away. Whatever the case, it wasn't so in Kershaw's third time going up against the Astros order. Kershaw faced six Astros batters the third time through, throwing five fourseams, four curveballs and 12 sliders. His efficiency the second time through meant that hitters didn't have a jump on his breaking stuff, so Kershaw was able to go back into that well. Kershaw made it seven innings throwing only 83 pitches, and although some may wonder why Dave Roberts didn't bring him back for the eighth, it makes sense considering a.) it's a long series and b.) the 1-2 punch of Brandon Morrow-Kenley Jansen in the eighth and ninth is too good to pass up in a 3-1 game. Kershaw gets to rest up for a potential Game 5, and the bullpen gets its reps in.

Kershaw's efficiency is the takeaway from this game. Of his 83 pitches, 57 were strikes, or about 69 percent. He didn't walk anyone, and he didn't need to do anything different. Kershaw threw 46 percent fourseams, 39 percent sliders, 14 percent curveballs and 1 percent twoseams. All of that is pretty much in-line with his seasonal averages for each pitch. He almost took a microcosm of his regular season and compacted it into one World Series game. He's telling batters "you know what I'm going to throw, but you still won't hit it."

Of Kershaw's 12 curveballs, four of them were called strikes. It's his best backdoor pitch to right-handed batters, but it buckles lefties with its backdoor action. His slider is where the real work gets in, coming in on the hands of right-handers and forcing them to saw themselves out.

All-in-all, it was a masterful performance from Kershaw. This October has been a coming out party of sorts for the stigmatized postseason pitcher. Although his record wasn't reflective of his talent, Kershaw is now 3-0 these playoffs with a few dominant performances. If the Dodgers continue this run, then Kershaw will deserve as much credit as anyone else on the team.