Keuchel was good, but Kershaw was Kershaw

Keuchel was good, but Kershaw was Kershaw and the Dodger bullpen was perfect again

The Astros collected only three hits.

The only knock on Kershaw's astounding career has been his mediocre post-season performance, so he pitched last night like a guy with something to prove. The Astros looked hapless against Kershaw's breaking pitches.

A brief recap of some of Kershaw's career achievements:

1. His career W-L record is 144-64, giving him a .692 W-L pct. Since the inception of the 60-foot pitching distance in 1893, that is the best of all time among pitchers with 200+ decisions. Whitey Ford is second at .690. Sandy Koufax finished at .654.

2. His career ERA is 2.36. Among starters in the lively ball era (1920-present), that is the best of all time. Whitey Ford is a distant second at 2.75, Koufax is third at 2.76.

3. His lifetime adjusted ERA plus (league ERA divided by individual's ERA, adjusted for park effects) is 161. That's again the best of all time among starting pitchers. Pedro Martinez is second at 154. Koufax is far down the pack at 131.

4. He has struck out 9.9 batters per 9 innings in 1935 innings. Among pitchers who have pitched that many innings, that's the third-best of all time, behind Randy Johnson and Pedro. Nolan Ryan is 4th at 9.6, Koufax 5th at 9.3.

5. He's actually getting better. In the 2017 season he bested his career averages in all four of those categories! (W-L Pct .818, ERA 2.31, ERA+ 180, 10.4 Ks per 9 innings)