Clayton Kershaw Takes Well-Deserved Shot At Houston Astros

Clayton Kershaw hasn’t forgotten that the 2017 Houston Astros cheated him and the Los Angeles Dodgers out of a World Series. And he shouldn’t.

His latest comment came in response to a question from The Athletic’s Jayson Stark. Stark, reporting on the 2024 National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and New York Mets, was looking to find if there’s ever been a better 1-2 at the top of a lineup than the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Finding a better top of the lineup sounds easier than it is, so Stark went up to Kershaw after the Dodgers 10-2 win in game four and asked what he thought.

“I’m trying to think of teams that I pitched against,” Kershaw said. “Like the best teams. I mean, leadoff-wise, (Jose) Altuve and (Alex) Bregman were good (in Houston). But they cheated, so that’s not really the same.”

“So yeah,” he said. “It’s hard to find. And ours is probably the best (1-2 punch) — right now — for sure.”

They sure did cheat, and that absolutely makes it not really the same.

Houston star Jose Altuve. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Clayton Kershaw Roasting Houston Astros Never Gets Old

There are any number of aggrieved parties from the 2017 Astros’ propensity for cheating. The New York Yankees lost to Houston in the American League Championship Series, giving their fans plenty to be upset about, especially considering the organization’s long absence from the World Series.

But given how tightly fought the 2017 World Series was between the Dodgers and Astros, and how their offense dominated in key games, the Dodgers clearly have the biggest gripe. And Kershaw might have the best case for long-lasting individual frustration.

With the series tied at two, game five at Minute Maid Park was an obvious inflection point for the direction of the series. And the Dodgers quickly jumped out to a four-run lead by the top of the fourth inning. Kershaw, then at the peak of his powers, saw the lead evaporate, thanks no doubt, in part due to the Astros trash can activities. Yuli Gurriel, allowed to continue playing in the series after making a racist comment and gesture towards Yu Darvish, hit a three-run homer to tie the game at four.

The Astros hit four more home runs in the game, including another three-run homer by a cheating Altuve. Even Brian McCann, by then well past his prime, hit a massive solo homer in the eighth inning.

There’s no way to know the outcome had the Astros not been cheating. But Kershaw in his career had quite literally never lost a game when the Dodgers gave him four runs to work with. Until game five of the 2017 World Series in Houston. In the regular season, Kershaw had a 44 percent swinging and miss rate on his slider that year. He threw 51 sliders or breaking balls in game five and didn’t get a single swing and miss. Wonder why!

The Astros had an elite offense, and Altuve and Bregman were and are top-level talent. Give those types of players an unfair advantage, that’s what you get. Ohtani and Betts in 2024 are almost certainly better, and they’re doing it without cheating. Hard to beat that.