Clayton Kershaw to pitch out of bullpen in NL Division Series against Philadelphia

By Canadian Press on October 3, 2025.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw will pitch out of the bullpen in the NL Division Series against Philadelphia.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner, the 37-year-old left-hander is set to retire at the end of the postseason. He was left off the 26-man roster when the Dodgers swept Cincinnati in the Wild Card Series.

“He’ll be on the roster. He’s going to be out of the pen and used as such,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday.

Kershaw went 11-6 with a 3.32 ERA this season and has started 451 of 455 regular season games, all with Los Angeles. He has 32 starts and seven relief appearances in the postseason.

The 11-time All-Star and 2014 NL MVP is tied with Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most years with the Dodgers in franchise history. Kershaw won World Series championships in 2020 and 2024.

Though Kershaw missed the start of the year while recovering from offseason surgery, he was healthy the remainder of the 2025 campaign and quite effective.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

The Associated Press