NLDS 2017: Three reasons Dodgers-Diamondbacks will be insane

Clayton Kershaw will either cement his legacy or face another early exit

There is no debating that Clayton Kershaw is on a tier by himself during the regular season. The dominance that he’s able to display so consistently for Los Angeles is unmatched in all of baseball.

However, when you look at his track record in the postseason, the numbers that jump out to you say just the opposite about the lefty. In his career, Kershaw is just 4-7 all-time in the postseason with a 3-3 NLDS mark.

His overall postseason ERA is 4.55 and his ERA for the NLDS round is 4.01. That is not the same kind of numbers you’d expect from a Cy Young winner, and the constant struggle to figure out why he can’t translate his success to October remains ongoing.

Should he come out the conqueror of Arizona, it will speak volumes to those that have continued to criticize Kershaw’s lack of postseason success. The Diamondbacks are a real threat, and every pitch matters more this season than any other postseason for the Dodgers in recent memory.

Kershaw’s legacy is not something that can be toyed with very often, but this is the time of year that messes with him the most. It’s not all on him, as the Dodgers must have a better offensive production than their opponent for any pitching excellence to matter, even if its in a close game.

He has done well in lower scoring games than anything else in the playoffs, but that won’t likely be the team’s approach moving forward into this series. The question facing the Dodgers ace beforehand is whether or not he’s willing to let his legacy constantly be on the line or if he’s going to push beyond that and break that barrier.