Watch: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Beat Astros 3-1 In World Series Opener

In his first World Series start, Clayton Kershaw struck out 11 over seven innings to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 home victory over the Houston Astros in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

Dodgers vs. Astros World Series Game 1 score

It was scorching hot — 103 degrees, to be exact — at Dodger Stadium, and Kershaw admitted how brutal it was as his team played its first World Series game since 1988.

“It was hot tonight, so warming up, it didn’t take long to get loose,” he said. “But I tried to get that first inning under my belt. And, fortunately, I got that.”

Kershaw held Houston — which led the majors in runs scored during the regular season — to three hits, including Alex Bregman’s solo homer in the fourth inning. He finished one strikeout shy of his postseason career best.

The contest also marked the shortest World Series game since 1992: it lasted a mere 2 hours and 28 minutes.

In the Dodgers’ half of the sixth, Chris Taylor drew a two-out walk off Dallas Keuchel to prolong the frame. Taylor’s walk came before a game-turning homer from the other NLCS co-MVP, third baseman Justin Turner, who drove the crowd wild with a shot to left field.

Turner’s two RBI’s raised his playoff career total to 26, which tied Duke Snider’s franchise record.

Nevertheless, Kershaw was undoubtedly the star of the night, as he tied his playoff high for innings pitched and has now decreased his career postseason ERA from 4.55 at the end of the regular season to 4.21.

After four outings this October, Kershaw is 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24⅓ innings.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday at 8 pm EST at Dodger Stadium, and will air on FOX. Justin Verlander will start for the Astros, while Rich Hill will take the mound for the hosts. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Game 1 winner has won the World Series 64 percent of the time, so the Dodgers are off to a promising start.

“Speaking for me, personally, it’s more — and I think to the [team] as well — it’s the World Series,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But I think we had our goal and our mindset of winning 11 games in October. So right now we’ve won eight. And that’s the only thing that we’ve been thinking of.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 24: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the third inning against the Houston Astros in game one of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 24, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena

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