Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) is congratulated on the mound by Freddie Freeman, left, as he is replaced in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) reacts as he is replaced during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw waves as he leaves during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) and catcher Ben Rortvedt, center left, walk to the dugout after working the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners during a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers Shohei Ohtani doubles against the Seattle Mariners during a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani watches his solo home run off Seattle Mariners pitcher Caleb Ferguson during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers Shohei Ohtani runs toward first base as he doubles against the Seattle Mariners during a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers’ Hyeseong Kim, center, is greeted by Ben Rortvedt, left, with Michael Conforto, right, after his two-run home run hit off Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller during the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers’ Hyeseong Kim watches his two-run home run hit off Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller during the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, right, is greeted by third base coach Dino Ebel, left, after hitting a two-run home run off Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases on his solo home run off Seattle Mariners pitcher Caleb Ferguson during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Dodgers’ Enrique Hernándezi, left, greets Hyeseong Kim, right, after a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) is congratulated on the mound by Freddie Freeman, left, as he is replaced in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
SEATTLE — Once more with feelings – lots of them.
As he finished his warmup routine before Sunday’s game and headed toward the Dodgers’ dugout at T-Mobile Park, Clayton Kershaw stopped to lean into the stands and get hugs and greetings from his wife and two of his four children, long-time pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and good friend and former teammate A.J. Ellis, all gathered for the occasion of Kershaw’s final start.
When Kershaw turned to walk away, the team’s social media cameras caught the 37-year-old veteran rubbing at the tears in his eyes.
“It was hard,” Kershaw said. “I hadn’t seen my family in a minute, and Ellen and the older two kids flew in today just to see this game. To see them over there, and A.J. and Honey were there too – so just the people that I kind of grew up with here. Having them here was really special.
“It was hard to see them, and hard in a good way. Just emotional. But after that, you don’t want to embarrass yourself. You want to get people out, so try to compete as best you can. And thankfully, it worked out today.”
It did. Kershaw went to work one last time, doing what he has done as well as any pitcher of his generation. The future Hall of Famer held the Seattle Mariners scoreless into the sixth inning. His teammates gave him parting gifts – two-run home runs from Hyeseong Kim and Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani’s 55th homer of the season – and sent Kershaw out a winner for the 223rd time as the Dodgers finished their regular-season schedule with a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
“It’s been awesome,” said Kershaw, who dropped the announcement of his retirement plans 10 days ago – in time for one last start at home, a relief appearance in Arizona and Sunday’s last dance. “It was always the debate on how to handle this. Announcing it is more for the people that have been around you for so long, that have kind of poured into your career, and just being able to acknowledge them.
“It’s just been unbelievable, and I’m so grateful for it all. And then on the personal side, yeah, I mean, I think I have enjoyed it. Dodger Stadium last week was pretty amazing. To be able to walk off that mound to that ovation is something I’ll never forget, and today was really special, too. So I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s been an amazing 10 days, two weeks. Now we can all turn our focus to beating the Reds.”
The sweep in Seattle this weekend completed a 15-5 sprint to the finish by the Dodgers, who won 93 games this season, their lowest full-season total since 2018 (92). They will host the Cincinnati Reds in a best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. First pitch in each of the potential three games will be 6:08 p.m. PT.
Sunday could potentially have been the final time Kershaw throws a baseball for the Dodgers.
Before the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Kershaw will not be on the team’s roster for the Wild Card Series. After throwing 94 pitches on Sunday, he would not be realistically available to pitch out of the bullpen before Game 3 on Thursday.
Beyond that, Roberts said, it’s difficult to predict the Dodgers’ needs.
Kershaw’s baseball future after that, however, is set.
When he is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years from now, his plaque will be full. It will list 2,855⅓ innings pitched, 451 games started (tied for 87th all-time), 223 wins (tied for 74th), 3,052 strikeouts (20th all-time, fourth among left-handed pitchers), a career ERA of 2.53 (the second-lowest by any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched since 1920) and a winning percentage of .699 (the best of any pitcher since 1920) to go with 11 All-Star selections, three Cy Young Awards (2011, 2013 and 2014) and one Most Valuable Player award (2014).
His farewell performance Sunday was a good one. Kershaw allowed just four hits while striking out seven, including the final three batters he faced.
After striking out Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh to end the fifth inning, Roberts sent Kershaw back out for the sixth inning. Kershaw struck out Eugenio Suarez and Roberts sent Freeman (already pulled from the game) out to make the pitching change. Kershaw pulled away and kept the ball when Freeman asked for it, then got hugs from his teammates before leaving the mound to a loud ovation.
“For Doc to let me be a part of it in that moment, those are the ones that will choke you up as you think about things you were able to do in your baseball career,” Freeman said. “To be able to take, in my opinion, the greatest pitcher of our generation out of his last regular-season start, I think that might be up there as one of my favorite baseball moments that I’ve had.
“What he’s done on this baseball field, he’s left everything out there on that mound. Eighteen years, he’s been incredible. So all we can really do is hug him and tell him what he means to us.”
Sunday was Kershaw’s 22nd start of the season. Returning from foot and knee surgery, he did not make his 2025 debut until the middle of May. But he went 11-2 with a 3.36 ERA in his farewell season and didn’t miss a start once he rejoined the rotation.
“There’s a lot of things I’m gonna miss, but getting this carcass out there every fifth day, I’m not going to miss that,” he said.
The Dodgers have not announced their starting rotation for the Wild Card Series, but Roberts said after Sunday’s game that “(BIake) Snell is a good bet” for Game 1.
“That’s a little teaser, I guess,” Roberts said.
Ohtani was not in the lineup on Saturday, but he did throw a bullpen session – consistent with a Game 1 start. Snell threw his bullpen session on Sunday morning. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has not started on less than five days of rest this season, setting him up for either Game 2 or 3. Holding Ohtani until Game 3 would give him extended rest and a guaranteed day off the following day – something the Dodgers have tried to do as often as possible since he returned to the mound, trying to avoid the lesser offensive output that has typically followed when he has had to play the day after a start.
“It’s going to be baked in,” Roberts said. “More rest has been good for him. He’s responded to that. That’s certainly baked in.”
Ohtani returned to the lineup Sunday and went 3 for 5 with a single, a double and his 55th home run (breaking his personal and franchise record set last season). He scored two more runs, finishing the season with an MLB-leading 146 runs scored.
“What’s done is done,” Ohtani said through his interpreter in an on-field interview after the game. “I’m just looking forward to the postseason.”
Like the Dodgers themselves, Ohtani has turned it on down the stretch. He hit .312 (29 for 93) in September with eight doubles, a triple, 10 home runs, 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored – and he didn’t allow a run in 14⅔ innings in his three pitching starts while giving up just eight hits and striking out 18.
“He’s in and has been in postseason mode,” Roberts said. “His September has been fantastic – at-bat quality, you can see it on the mound, he’s got a different look right now.”
Originally Published: September 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM PDT