Clayton Kershaw biographer reveals pitcher's most frustrating playoff loss

“In 2017, we all know what happened there with the Astros. That’s the one that causes him, still, the most frustration,” McCullough said.

Kershaw has some reason to be bitter over the experience, particularly his outing in Game 5 in Houston. The 2017 Astros were found to have illegally stolen signs for much of the regular season, casting many of their accomplishments into doubt. MLB’s investigation found no evidence that they used the system during the postseason, but there has been plenty of skepticism about that finding.

Kershaw pitched a seven-inning gem in Game 1 of that series in Los Angeles, striking out 11 in a victory. The big flashpoint was Game 5, in which Kershaw was staked to a 4-0 lead in Houston before running into trouble in the fourth and giving up a game-tying three-run home run to Yuli Gurriel. The Dodgers immediately went back ahead 7-4 on a Cody Bellinger home run, but Kershaw issued back-to-back two-out walks in the next inning and was then pulled. Kenta Maeda, his replacement, gave up another game-tying three-run home run, this time to Jose Altuve, leaving Kershaw with a line of six earned runs allowed in 4 2/3 innings. Houston went on to win that game 13-12 in 10 innings.

It certainly sounds like Kershaw thinks the Astros’ cheating may have cost him that game and subsequently the series. He and the Dodgers certainly were not the only team that feels that way.