Dodgers Dugout: All eyes on Clayton Kershaw; Game 4 preview

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I turned off the game after the Dodgers took that insurmountable 3-0 lead. They held on to win, right?

Game 3 thoughts

--If you live in Los Angeles, opened a window and listened closely last night, you could actually hear the Mets fans in New York booing Chase Utley during the pregame introduction.

--So, Brett Anderson gives up four straight hits to give up a run and load the bases at the start of the bottom of the second. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt just sits there instead of walking to the mound to break the momentum and settle things down. The Mets go on to score four runs. This comes on the heels of Honeycutt not going out to give Clayton Kershaw a breather after he was walking guys in the extreme heat in Game 1. Could someone please poke Honeycutt tonight in the dugout to make sure he is awake?

--The Dodgers’ failure to address their biggest needs in the off-season came back to bite them in Game 3. I find it mind-boggling that even though Dodgers fans knew where the team needed to improve – from the lack of reliable third starting pitcher to the bad bullpen -- the team did nothing to address the deficiencies. Signing a bunch of injury-prone starters or journeyman relievers and hoping you get lucky with one is not a real plan. It’s just rolling the dice.

--All is not lost. Going into the series, I figured it this way: The Dodgers would lose Game 3, meaning either Kershaw or Zack Greinke would have to win two games, with the other one winning once. That still has to happen. Kershaw needs to win tonight, and Greinke needs to win his second game of the series on Thursday.

--If you wanted to record the game last night, good luck with that, considering it jumped from TNT to TBS. They should have just left it on TNT, but I guess it was really important to get those “Castle” reruns in. Last thing you want is a bunch of irate Nathan Fillion fans calling your studio.

--So the game is delayed slightly at the start because of a malfunction in the replay system. Meanwhile, Ron Darling and Cal Ripken Jr. are going ballistic because they think the umpires are warning Matt Harvey not to throw at batters. Way to be professional, guys.

--The Geico “Final Countdown” commercial featuring Europe is one of my favorite commercials.

--Just to pick on Darling a little more, at one point it was mentioned that the 50 combined strikeouts in the first two games was a postseason record. They showed a picture of Jacob deGrom, and Darling said excitedly “AND HE WAS A BIG PART OF IT!” Then they showed Kershaw, and Darling said quietly, “He was part of it too.” We know you are a former Met, but at least pretend to act neutral.

--Why is Jimmy Rollins batting second and Kiké Hernandez batting eighth? And can we please get Carl Crawford out of the lineup, since the last time he caught up to a fastball, a Bush was president.

--I’m sticking with my prediction of the Dodgers in four. I think Kershaw pitches so well tonight that they give the Dodgers two wins. Hey, with the weird decisions MLB is making this series, it could happen.

Game 4 preview

The Dodgers play at New York tonight in Game 4, which starts at 5 Pacific time and will be televised on TBS. Kershaw takes on Mets rookie Steven Matz, who got the win in New York’s 8-0 victory over the Dodgers on July 5. Matz struck out eight and gave up only two hits in six innings, with Hernandez and A.J. Ellis getting the hits, both singles. Matz is a left-hander, so you might see some lineup changes, with Justin Ruggiano and Yasiel Puig replacing Crawford and Andre Ethier.

Kershaw will be pitching on three days’ rest. He has made two starts in the playoffs on three days' rest, going 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA, with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings. His loss came last season, losing to St. Louis, 3-2, in Game 4 of the NLDS.

“The adrenaline takes over. You don't really feel tired or anything like that," Kershaw said Monday about pitching on short rest. "You know, it's the playoffs. So it doesn't really -- obviously your routines change a little bit, different things like that -- but as far as being prepared, being ready for it, I'll be fine."

For his career, Kershaw is 3-0 with a 1.01 ERA in four starts at Citi Field, home of the Mets.

The rest of the schedule

Game 5*: Thursday at Dodger Stadium, 5 p.m., Zack Greinke vs. Jacob deGrom

* if necessary. All times Pacific. All games on TBS.

One more thing about Utley

I can understand Mets fans being mad at Utley, but their anger should really be directed at the umpires. MLB ruled Utley’s slide illegal, which means that play should have been an automatic double play, ending the inning. Which means the Dodgers don’t score four runs to take the lead, which means the Mets would have won that game. And they would have won the series with their Game 3 victory. Instead, they have to face Kershaw and possibly Greinke again. The odds are still in the Mets’ favor, but they should be resting up today. And how is it the umpires face no discipline for blowing a call that badly?

And in another bizarre decision by MLB, they will not hear Utley's appeal until Oct. 19, which means he will play tonight and in Game 5 if there is one. And if the Dodgers are eliminated, whatever suspension he serves will come next season, when he will be with another team. So, no real punishment for him or the Dodgers.

Ask Ross Porter

Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on to him. Here is his latest response:

Toyo Kimura asks: If you could build your own Dodgers team, who would be the first pitcher and first hitter you would pick?

Ross: Don't  restrict me, Toyo, to one pitcher and one player. I'll choose three in each category--in alphabetical order.  Hitters: Josh Donaldson, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout. Pitchers: Jake Arrieta, Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel.

And finally

The Dodgers have a bunch of items on clearance on their website. You can get a Matt Kemp jersey, a Hanley Ramirez jersey, a Dee Gordon jersey and a Yasiel Puig shirt. Wait, Yasiel Puig? Isn’t he still with the team? Are they trying to tell us something? You can see it all here.

Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston.