Column: It’s not Classic Kershaw in World Series opener

They began singing the song in the first inning, loud enough to be heard through the strong winds, powerful enough to cut through a deep chill.

“Ker-shaw, Ker-shaw, Ker-shaw…�

The Boston Red Sox fans were reciting the last name of one of the greatest regular season pitchers in Dodgers history. But this is Clayton Kershaw’s witching season, and the words were not tribute but taunt.

“Ker-shaw, Ker-shaw, Ker-shaw …�

Once again, continuing a trend that is as baffling as it is bristling, a Dodgers pitcher headed for lifetime in Cooperstown couldn’t survive a night in October. Once again, Kershaw’s struggles meant the Dodgers stumbled, this time in an 8-4 loss to the Red Sox Tuesday at Fenway Park in Game 1 of the 114th World Series.

“We come here, we try to battle, we try to win,� said Manny Machado afterward, shaking his head. “Sometimes things happen.�

As usual this time of year, a bunch of those things happened to Kershaw, the Dodgers ace who has made a career out of mixing classic postseason starts with clunkers.

Coming off his classic win in the National League Championship Series against Milwaukee last week, this was one of those clunkers.

“I didn’t pitch very well,� said Kershaw plainly, answering questions he’s heard a million times. “I felt great, but I just didn’t pitch very well.�

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Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood can’t look as Red Sox Eduardo Nunez celebrates after hitting a three-run home un in the 7th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers Alex Wood watches as Red Sox’s Eduardo Nunez homers in game one.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Red Sox Eduardo Nunez celebrates after hitting a three-run home run in the 7th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Red Sox Eduardo Nunez celebrates after hitting a three run home run as Dodgers Yasmandi Grandal waits in the 7th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers Joc Pederson and Justin Turner cannot catch a bloop double by Red Sox Andrew Benintendi in the 7th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers Cody Bellinger is frustrated after flying out in the 7th inning ending a rally.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers Cody Bellinger is frustrated after flying out to end the 7th inning rally.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Dodgers Max Muncy scores on a sacrifice fly as Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon bobbles the ball in the 7th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Dodgers Justin Turner singles in the 7th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Dodgers Joc Pederson and Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon watches the ball go foul in the 7th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Dodger manager Dave Roberts calls to the bullpen to replace Clayton Kershaw in the fifth inning.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Dodgers Manny Machado wizzes a single past Red Sox pitcher Matt Barnes in the 5th inning.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Dodgers second baseman Brian Dozier throws to first as Red Sox Steve Pearce slides in the fifth inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Red Sox’s Rafael Devers celebrates after driving in a run in the fifth inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw gives up a hit in the 5th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw shows frustration as the Red Sox rally in the fifth inning during Game 1 of the 2018 World Series.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw is taken out in the 5th inning

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw can only watch as Mookie Betts singles in the first inning.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Dodgers Yasiel Puig strikes out in the 4th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Justin Turner slashes a single in game one of the 2018 Word Series at Fenway Park.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Red Sox centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. catches a line drive hit by Dodgers Austin Barnes in the 4th inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes can only watch as Red Sox Steve Pearce scores in the 3rd inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Red Sox Rafael Devers strikes out to end the inning as Dodgers Austin Barnes tries to hold onto the pitch in the 3rd inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers second baseman Brian Dozier throws to first as Andrew Benintendi slides in the third inning Benintendi was out on the play.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon can only watch as Dodgers Justin Turner scores the second run of the game in the third inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw looks at Red Sox baserunner J.D. Martinez before delivering a pitch in the first inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers Matt Kemp homers off Red Sox’s Chris Sale in the second inning.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Dodgers Matt Kemp watches his solo homerun in the second inning of game one.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers Matt Kemp homers off Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale in the second inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers Matt Kemp circles the bases after hitting a homerun off Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale in the second inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw walks to the dugout after completing the second inning against the Red Sox in game.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Red Sox Mookie Betts scored the first run of the game as Dodger catcher Austin Barnes wait for the throw in the first inning of game one of the World Series at Fenway Park.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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As Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw watches, Red Sox’s Mookie Betts scores the first run in the first inning of game one.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws in the first inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Mookie Betts steals second as Dodgers shortsop Manny Machado cannot catch the ball in the first inning in game one of the 2018 Word Series at Fenway Park. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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With a Fenway Park scoreboard handler looking on, Dodgers Chris Taylor gets into position in the first inning.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

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Boston Red Sox’s starting pitcher Chris Sale throws in the first inning of game one.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski (R) with Red Sox player Dustin Pedroia (L) after throwing out the first pitch before the start of game one.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times )

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A heavy cell of rain and lightning passes near Fenway Park nearly an hour before game time.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Ground crew members pull a tarp off the field soon after a heavy rainstorm passed by hours before the LA Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox play game one of the 2018 Word Series at Fenway Park.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Fenway Park grounds crew members pull a tarp off the field soon after a heavy rainstorm passed by hours before the LA Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox play game one of the 2018 Word Series at Fenway Park.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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A rainbow is seen at Fenway Park prior to Game One of the 2018 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox.

  (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times / )

On a windy night with temperatures in the 40s and the crowd huddling and jeering, Kershaw took the mound in short sleeves, but was soon even more exposed.

It started on his second pitch, when first baseman David Freese got turned around and allowed a foul pop from Mookie Betts to fall harmlessly to the dirt. Betts eventually singled and scored one of two Red Sox runs in the first, with three of the first four Boston batters collecting singles.

“That ball needed to be caught,� said Freese. “You want to get the ‘W’ for Kersh.�

It ended with Kershaw getting pinned with another ‘L’ after he left the game with runners on first and second on a walk and a single in the fifth, then watched both runners score.

“All the way around, not a great night,� said Kershaw.

In his final tally, he gave up five runs in four innings, but that’s not the worst of it. The biggest problem was when he allowed the runs. Twice the Red Sox took the lead, twice the Dodgers tied the score, but twice Kershaw gave it back.

“This is a hard team to beat, no matter what,� said Kershaw, and it’s certainly impossible when your starting pitcher can’t sustain any momentum.

Giving back leads is something Kershaw did in his last World Series start, last season’s Game 5 against the Houston Astros, when he helped the Dodgers blow three-run and four-run advantages in an eventual loss that cost them perhaps their best chance at a securing the title.

Giving up runs in postseason is something Kershaw has done oddly and frequently. The difference in his regular-season ERA and postseason ERA is the highest among all pitchers in baseball history with at least a dozen postseason starts.

In four World Series appearances, Kershaw has a 5.23 ERA. In 29 postseason appearances, he is 9-9 with a 4.28 ERA

Yet in his regular season career, he is 153-69 with a 2.39 ERA.

There has been much talk all season about Kershaw’s ability this winter to opt out of the final two years of a contract with $65 million remaining. Could this be his last year in blue? Maybe he’ll take his talents elsewhere for a better contract?

It says there that if the Dodgers value legacy and history, they should figure out a way to keep him. They need a statue, they need a new Hall of Famer in a Los Angeles cap.

But they must be willing to make that commitment knowing that, for now, for whatever reason, one of their two greatest left-handers ever is inconsistent when the moment is at its biggest.

Kershaw still needs that first championship to be truly compared to Sandy Koufax, and on Tuesday, the Dodgers’ latest attempt to end that 30-year drought didn’t go well.

“I don’t think he had the fastball command that he typically does.… I don’t think his slider had the depth that we’re used to seeing,� said Manager Dave Roberts. “And [we] didn’t make Clayton’s job any easier.�

Indeed they did not.

The Dodgers offense failed repeatedly to cash in on potentially big moments against several Boston relievers, including managing runs only a Machado grounder with runners on second and third with none out in the fifth, and on a Machado fly with bases loaded and one out in the seventh.

“We had opportunities. You got to show up, especially this time of year,� said Freese, who struck out in that dreadful fifth. “You just got to get it done, you’ve got to play really good baseball.�

There were problems at the plate, in the field, and even in the dugout. Roberts will come under fire for a questionable lifting of reliever Pedro Baez with runners on first and second and two out in the seventh inning of a 5-4 game. Baez had struck out two of the three batters he faced, the other was intentionally walked, and he had the overpowering stuff of someone who has been the Dodgers’ best reliever for the last two months.

But then Roberts played the percentages, pulling the righty Baez rather than have him face left-handed hitting Rafael Devers, and instead chose to have unsettled reliever Alex Wood face Eduardo Nunez.

Two pitches later, Nunez sent a curveball soaring into the night sky for a three-run homer over the left-field Green Monster to clinch it.

“We talked about it with Petey throwing the ball well right there,� said Roberts. “But Devers is really good against the right-hander.… I really liked Alex in that spot, I did.�

The evening that began with one song ended with another one, the crowd standing and victoriously chanting, “Beat L.A … Beat L.A.�

The Dodgers have as many as six more chances to shut them up. Kershaw could pitch in two more of those games.

More than a drought is at stake. So, too, is a legacy.

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