One day after announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the 2025 season, Clayton Kershaw made his final regular-season home start for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Friday’s 6-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Speaking to reporters after the win, Kershaw was full of love and gratitude for how the game played out and the ovation he received from the Dodger Stadium crowd when he was removed with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.
“I don’t have enough gratitude and thanks and words,” Kershaw said. “I think I just need to write it all down or something. I can’t adequately express how thankful I am for tonight, this whole season, just my whole career. Just so thankful I’ve gotten to be a Dodger this long.”
The game started with the seven Dodgers starting position players, excluding catcher Dalton Rushing, staying back in the dugout for a moment when Kershaw took the field to get an ovation from the 53,037 fans, including his wife and their four kids, in attendance.
Kershaw called it a “great gesture,” though he “didn’t love it” because he’s notorious for being very routine-oriented and prefers not to have anything that might disrupt his planned schedule.
It wasn’t the most memorable start from Kershaw in terms of performance, but he battled through it to give the Dodgers a chance to win. He allowed two runs on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Despite not having his best game, Kershaw did go out on a high note by striking out Rafael Devers for his final out.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the win that Kershaw apologized to him for not pitching well before asking if he could keep the ball when he got pulled from the game.
Roberts said his response to Kershaw was: “You can do whatever you want. It’s your night.”
During his postgame interview on the field with Heidi Watney, Kershaw thanked the Dodgers crowd for their support over the past 18 years before adding they “got another month to go” in reference to the postseason.
The Dodgers officially clinched a playoff berth with Friday’s win. It’s possible that could end up being Kershaw’s final start at Dodger Stadium depending on how things play out in the postseason and how Roberts sets up their rotation.
Friday marked Kershaw’s 229th career appearance at Dodger Stadium. He has a 117-42 record with a 2.26 ERA and 1,651 strikeouts in 1,479.2 innings in those games.
