Clayton Kershaw exits final regular-season Dodger Stadium start to standing ovation as Dodgers clinch playoffs

Clayton Kershaw got a farewell worthy of his 18 years at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

One day after announcing his plans to retire following the 2025 season, the three-time Cy Young Award winner made his final regular-season start at the only professional home he's ever known. Facing his longtime foe the San Francisco Giants, he was pulled after a strikeout of Rafael Devers in the fifth inning, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, hugs from his teammates and no shortage of tears from his wife, Ellen.

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"I can't even put into words how special this night was to me," Kershaw said after the game.

It wasn't a perfect night, with the Giants scoring a couple runs off Kershaw, including a leadoff homer from Heliot Ramos, and the game being watchable for Dodger fans only on Apple TV+. He struck out six while allowing two hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings of work, a solid night in a solid final season.

Still, every athlete should be so lucky to get one moment like that on their way out, with so many former teammates rushing to be there. Former Dodgers Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Chase Utley, Austin Barnes and A.J. Pollock were all in the stands for Kershaw, as was his former high school football teammate, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Ethier and Martin were both in the Dodgers' lineup when Kershaw made his MLB debut in 2008, with Martin catching him and Ethier providing the walk-off hit.

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"I remember it was a long time ago and he was a puppy," Martin told the Apple TV+ stream. "I was there for his first game and it felt natural to be there for his last start."

The Dodgers also got their only run with Kershaw on the mound Friday via a solo homer from Miguel Rojas, who was playing third base for the team when Kershaw threw his only no-hitter in 2014. Shohei Ohtani added a few more runs after Kershaw left with a three-run homer in the fifth inning, guaranteeing Kershaw wouldn't take the loss.

The game ended as a 6-3 Dodgers win. Los Angeles clinched a postseason berth minutes before the final pitch via a Philadelphia Phillies win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and also expanded its NL West lead over the San Diego Padres to four games with eight left to play.

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With the Dodgers using a six-man rotation, Kershaw's final regular-season start is on track to be a road game against the Seattle Mariners next Friday. The book is now closed on his Dodger Stadium career, though, with a 2.26 ERA in 228 starts.

Clayton Kershaw's final start on the Dodger Stadium mound?

Friday was widely presented as Kershaw's final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium, because he could get a start there in the postseason. That is by no means a guarantee.

On most teams, a pitcher with Kershaw's numbers would be a safe bet for the playoff rotation. Unfortunately for these purposes, he plays for the Dodgers.

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While the rotation has been an issue for most of the season, the group has more than rounded into form over the past month, with six different starters looking more than solid.

When picking four starters for the playoff rotation, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow all appear to be locks for the unit. Shohei Ohtani should be, too, especially after Dodgers manager Dave Roberts all but shot down the possibility of him transitioning to a reliever to aid the Dodgers' ailing bullpen.

That leaves Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan as the odd men out. Sheehan figures to take a long relief role, as he's done in the past, but the question is if the Dodgers will have Kershaw do the same. Roberts said Friday he thinks the Dodgers will have a roster spot for him.

All of the above presumes everyone will stay healthy and not experience a perplexing loss of form in the next couple of weeks. Still, it all adds up to Friday being Kershaw's final Dodger Stadium start, full stop.

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