Kershaw's form has steadily improved, losing one in five innings, and the Dodgers cowpen collapsed and lost to the Guardians

There's no denying that Clayton Kershaw isn't at the peak of his early career. But as Wednesday's game proved, he still has what it takes to suppress the big league line. Kershaw hit six hits in the first five innings, gave up two runs and lost just one point, but the bullpen teamed up to collapse and the Dodgers lost 7-4 to the Guardians.

Kershaw's regret was that the bullpen couldn't hold on to the lead – Lou Trivino, Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia lost six points in the relay combined. "It was a dismal result," coach Dave Roberts said after the game, "and we should have won but the eighth game was completely out of control. "

The Guardians went on offense in the first inning: after Angel Martínez hit a second base hit, José Ramírez hit a well-timed home to give the visitors a lead. Kershaw was fortunate to have a guard backing up when Andy Pages made a long pass to stop Ramirez as he tried to run to second base. "Pachs's pass greatly limited the damage," Kershaw said. Although Carlos Santana and Gabriel Arias were then escorted, he ended up letting Jhonkensy Noel fly out to end the half game.

Kershaw spent 26 goals in the first game, but only 48 goals in the next four games. "The pitching mechanics are still being adjusted, but I can make key exits at the right time," he admits. Despite the Guardians hitting eight balls with muzzle velocity in excess of 100 mph (expected batting average of 0.322), Kershaw managed to concede points effectively. After just three strikeouts in the first two games of the season, he equaled that statistic for the Guardians, bringing his career strikeouts to 2,974, just 26 short of the 20th all-time 3,000K pitcher milestone in MLB history.

"He wasn't at his best, but he still found ways to limit his damage and show competitiveness," Roberts commented, "and he used his willpower to shoot five games and improve significantly in the end." Kershaw made four swings, three curveballs, and two knuckles, and the Guardian missed all three strikeouts. "It's really progressed," Kershaw concluded.

But the poor performance of the cattle shed negated the progress. The Dodgers Bullpen experienced a high-intensity attrition in May, and after Trivino made a thrilling clearance with a full base in six innings, Scott was beaten by Santana in seven innings and lost another point. Although Scott had three strikes against Arias to stop the bleeding, he was hit by Nolan Jones and hit by Nolan Jones. Vicia took over and was hit by Martinez's three-pointer — a home run that struck a red-mid speedball after two runaway speedballs. 'After a mistake in possession of the speedball, the speedball hit the heart,' Vicia explained.

The Dodgers Bullpen is severely short of firepower, and with five key players including Evan Phillips out injured, they still hit 104.2 innings this month (the second-highest in the league). Scott made 10 rescues for the Terminators, but his career-low strikeout rate of 9.5K/9 and 17th percentile strike rate exposed fatal flaws. "The crux of his inability to finish the beater has to be addressed," Roberts noted, "and it's not about the frequency of use... The problem is to finish the last blow of the hitter. "

Now, Vesia and his teammates need to digest the defeat as soon as possible and prepare for a repeat of this weekend's World Series against the Yankees. "The locker room is full of tough guys, and I'm willing to bet on any team-mate," Vecia said.