Kershaw makes final regular-season home start at Dodger Stadium as retirement looms
Dodgers rally to a 6-3 victory to clinch their 13th straight postseason berth as Clayton Kershaw meets a milestone moment in Los Angeles
Clayton Kershaw pitched the Dodgers’ final regular-season home start of his 18-year career Friday night at Dodger Stadium, hours after he announced plans to retire at season’s end. The 37-year-old left-hander was greeted with standing ovations as his warmup song, We Are Young by Fun, blared and fans flashed cameras to capture the moment. A sellout crowd of 53,037 watched as Kershaw worked through the evening with the weight of the moment obvious in the stadium lights and on the faces around him.
San Francisco leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos greeted the moment with a 431-foot homer off an 86-mph slider, a jolt of early energy for the visitors. The slugger’s blast set the tone, but the night unfolded as a broader homage to a Dodgers icon. Rafael Devers led off the fifth with a called third strike, and the Dodgers’ dugout and ballpark rose as manager Dave Roberts crossed the mound to hug Kershaw. Teammates on the field, in the dugout and in the bullpen joined the sellout crowd in applauding as Kershaw prepared to leave. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani stepped forward to hug his longtime teammate, underscoring the moment’s rarity. With fans clamoring, Kershaw came out for a curtain call, slowly turning and soaking in the scene.
Kershaw, a Dallas native who spends his offseasons in the area, finished 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six and walking four on 91 pitches. He left with the Dodgers trailing 2-1, a testament to the moment more than the box score. The result, however, would tilt in Los Angeles’ favor as the offense broke through late in the game.
The Dodgers erupted for a response, tying the game and then pulling away in a 6-3 victory that secured their 13th consecutive postseason berth. The comeback underscored the team’s resilience and the carryover of a franchise that has built recent success around a core that included Kershaw, a perennial playoff staple. After Kershaw left, the bullpen and the lineup picked up the slack, providing the late offense that lifted a night already drenched in significance.
Roberts said it was too early to say whether Kershaw would make another start next week when the Dodgers visit Arizona and Seattle to close the regular season. The manager spoke at length about the personal and professional standards Kershaw has embodied, noting the loyalty and commitment that have defined his time with the club. “In a world that people take the easy way out, chase short money, the grass is greener kind of adage, the loyalty part of it is just not what it used to be,” Roberts said. “Clayton lives by those values and it means something for him to wear the same uniform.”
Freddie Freeman added that Kershaw deserves everything coming his way from the fan base. “He’s earned it,” Freeman said. “He deserves everything he’s going to get from the fans.”
Beyond the emotional moment, Kershaw’s career résumé remains one of the league’s most storied. He reached 3,000 career strikeouts in July, a milestone that was celebrated with a bobblehead later in the season. The team plans to have him address the crowd before Sunday’s game, a fitting capstone to a season that has already marked a turning point in what his future holds. The bobblehead promotion for Saturday will serve as a reminder of the milestone that capped a long list of standout moments for a pitcher who has defined an era in Los Angeles.
Kershaw has spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, winning three Cy Young Awards and two World Series championships. Injuries in recent seasons have limited his postseason appearances, but his impact on the franchise remains immeasurable. He’s endured through surgeries, rehabilitation, and a shift in the team’s payroll posture, staying with the Dodgers through thick and thin and becoming a symbol of loyalty for a franchise whose identity has long been built around him.
As the Dodgers navigate the balance between celebrating a historic run and preparing for the postseason push, Friday’s game stood as a personal milestone for Kershaw even as the club secured a spot in October. The questions ahead - about another appearance next week and what postseason baseball might look like for him this fall - hung in the air, but Friday belonged to a pitcher who has spent nearly two decades delivering for Los Angeles and who now faces a season-ending decision that will define the remainder of his career.
The evening also served as a reunion of sorts, with former Dodgers catcher Russell Martin in attendance, and even NFL quarterback Matthew Stafford, Kershaw’s high school football teammate in Texas, among the attendees. The public’s embrace, combined with the professional respect from teammates and rivals alike, underscored the magnitude of the moment for the Dodgers and their longtime ace as the 2025 season moves toward its conclusion.
The Dodgers will close the regular season next week with trips to Arizona and Seattle, and Roberts indicated there is more to be decided about Kershaw’s immediate future. For now, the focus remains on a Dodgers win that kept their postseason hopes alive and on a moment that marked the end of an era for one of baseball’s defining figures.