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MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS DODGERS

October 24, 2017

Clayton Kershaw

Los Angeles, California - postgame 1

Houston Astros - 1, Los Angeles Dodgers - 3

Q. Describe your feelings from the warm-up to the game.
CLAYTON KERSHAW: Yeah, I felt good. I think it was hot tonight, so warming up, IT didn't take long to get loose. But tried to get that first inning under your belt, and fortunately I got out of that. And CT hitting that home run, the first pitch of the game, it kind of almost settled us all in a little bit. And just getting that momentum early is huge. And let the crowd kind of feed off that. It was definitely as good a start as we could have hoped for.

Q. Can you recall your first impressions of Justin Turner when he was a non-roster invite to Spring Training and how he's evolved as a hitter?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: My first impressions of JT was facing him when he was in the Dayton Dragons, and he could hit, man. He could always hit. But I think just what he's been able to do, how he's been able to change his swing, kind of like CT in a sense. But you can't teach what he's doing. No mechanics or anything can teach the mindset and the competitiveness, the clutchness, whatever that is. It seems like every single night he's in the right position to come up with a big hit.

We're going to ride him because I don't know if there's an easy way to get him out. He's been unbelievable for us.

Q. It seemed like you got a lot of called strikes with the slider and curveball tonight. When you're facing a lineup like this, how important is it to have pitches in the zone that aren't just fastballs?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: Yeah, I think this team is a really good hitting team. They hit a lot of homers and don't strike out. There's little room for error. So it's important for me to establish pitches, be able to throw multiple things for strikes, and thankful I was able to do that tonight.

I made a few mistakes, obviously Bregman got me, then threw one down the middle to Correa that he popped up; that could've gone a long way, too. So for the most part, though, I'll take it.

Q. You've talked about your relationship with Sandy Koufax, and of course he's had some of the great World Series performances in history. Did you have any contact with him since the end of the LCS and if he had any thoughts for you?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: I just saw him. He's here. Yeah, he's in our corner. He's rooting for us. I've said it a million times, but he's a special guy. Not too many guys can have that pedigree and be the kind of man he is. And thankful that I've gotten to hang out with him for a little while.

Q. I hope I'm not asking too much, but I'm curious about how you decide when you're going to drop down, what the situation typically is, what the process is. Does Austin know it's coming? I think you did it once tonight to strike out Reddick. How does that process come about?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: There's no process, there's really not. Barnesy doesn't know it's coming. He just calls a fastball. And somewhere in that area of my brain it seems like a good idea, so I do it. But there's no rhyme or reason. There's no pattern. I mean, obviously, usually they're left-hand batters, but other than that, I don't know. If I feel like I can sneak one by somebody I'll give it a shot.

Q. Do you ever throw that when you were young?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: I threw it when I was a sophomore and junior in high school. It's not foreign to me. I used to do that.

Q. You've pitched so many postseason games, but this is your World Series debut. Is there any extra juice as you get ready?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: Well, I think -- I don't know if you can decipher between a postseason start and a World Series start. The adrenaline, I feel like every game is so much more magnified. You can't really tell the difference between another postseason or a World Series start. But definitely feels good to say it was the World Series, and it feels good to say we're 1-0. And we have to come back tomorrow and do it again.

Q. When did you know that Chris Taylor was going to be as big an impact force that he's been? What was your impression when he got here?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: Everybody knew he was a great utility player, like he was going to help us out in that role. But as far as being an everyday, whatever you want to put him at shortstop, centerfielder, outfielder, leadoff hitter, with that type of pop, that type of at-bat quality, I mean I would never have guessed it until he started doing it.

He's one of the elite players in the game. You stack him up with other centerfielders in the game. Springer in Houston, all these guys, he's pretty close to up there. So it's definitely a good job with the organization and trading for him. It's a testament for him and his work ethic. He's such a great guy. He works so hard at his swing. And I'm thankful he's at the top of our lineup.

Q. I know you've got numbers and information and scouting reports and video. But when you're dealing with a team that you haven't faced I a bunch of guys that you haven't faced, is there a blank-slate quality to it that you have to get a sense the first time through the order?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: Anytime a pitcher hasn't faced a hitter, I feel the pitcher has the advantage. The more times the hitter sees somebody, the more the advantage goes to the hitter. With Dallas tonight and myself, there's a lot of guys we haven't faced in each other's lineups. And that can only help the pitcher at that point. Once they start seeing you, I'm sure they're going to have a different -- not necessarily different, but they're going to see me now in Game 5. So there's going to be some adjustments being made. Just like our hitters. We saw Keuchel now. He threw the ball well tonight.

So we're going to have to make adjustments, it can only help the hitters if we ask them to see the guy.

Q. What kind of impact did the heat have?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: Yeah, it was hot warming up. But once the game started, the sun went down, it didn't feel that hot. I think not much of a breeze but I don't think it had much of an impact tonight. That's why I gave up the homer, it was too hot tonight (laughter).

Q. You were rolling pretty good there, seventh inning, there was that double play that wasn't. At that point what was your initial reaction to that, and how did you maybe not let those negative thoughts get into your head? And how did you get through the rest of that inning?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: Two outs at that point and runner at first base with 6, 7, 8 coming up, at least as a starting pitcher you have to feel pretty confident, at least getting one out before they can score a run. And so, yeah, I guess that's how I did it. It felt good to get through 7, if that's what you're asking.

Q. It's been 29 years since the Dodgers have been there. Did the team feel anything going in? What was the talk before the game?
CLAYTON KERSHAW: I don't know, I think everybody deals with nerves and adrenaline a little bit differently. I don't think it has any effect that we haven't been here in 29 years. You don't play baseball for that long. Other than Chase, I don't think anybody had World Series experience on our team.

Everybody deals with it a little bit differently. And some people get a little louder, some people get a little quieter, but once the game starts, I feel like everybody kind of settles in a little bit.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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