Game 1 of the World Series between the Red Sox and Dodgers on Wednesday night was supposed to be a duel between two extraordinary aces, but it quickly became a battle of the bullpens. Clayton Kershaw was chased off the mound before the fifth inning ended and it was his eighth career postseason start allowing five runs or more, the most such starts in postseason history.

Kershaw summed up his night to reporters after the game:

"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. Kershaw 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.

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

"I don't think he had the fastball command that he typically does, missing up in the zone," Roberts said. "I don't think his slider had the depth that we're used to seeing. Those guys, to their credit, they put up some good at-bats against him. We didn't play the defense that we typically do. I thought we left some outs out there. It didn't make Clayton's job any easier."

Here are Kershaw's lines for all of his 2018 playoff starts:

  • NLDS Game 2: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
  • NLCS Game 1: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
  • NLCS Game 5: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
  • WS Game 1: 4+ IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

Everyone knows that Kershaw is as good as they come but his postseason struggles have hurt the Dodgers once again. They'll hope to even up the best-of-seven series Wednesday night at Fenway.

Stream every 2018 World Series game on fuboTV (Try for free). For a complete look at the Fall Classic schedule, click here.    

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