Clayton Kershaw to pitch NLDS Game 4 on short rest of Dodgers

The decision was really no decision at all for the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw, the planet’s most dominant pitcher, has to come back and pitch on short rest in Game 4.

It is such a no-brainer that manager Don Mattingly was comfortable making the announcement hours before the start of last night’s Game 3, with the National League Division Series tied at 1, so it didn’t come off as a panic move.

Kershaw will be pitching to keep the Dodgers’ season alive or to close out the Cardinals on Tuesday at Busch Stadium. Regardless of the scenario, Mattingly knew he wanted Kershaw to be on the mound.

“He’s our best guy,” he said.

There really was no need for further explanation. Kershaw is a slam dunk for his third Cy Young after finishing 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA in the regular season.

But that’s also what made his Game 1 meltdown so surprising — if not alarming, from the Dodgers’ perspective. On Friday at Chavez Ravine, Kershaw failed to protect a 6-2 lead and imploded in spectacular fashion in the seventh. He was charged with six of the Cardinals’ eight runs in the inning, and St. Louis prevailed, 10-9.

Even with an early start on his resume for Cooperstown and a seven-year, $215-million contract from the Dodgers, Kershaw knows everyone is curious to see if he can rebound in Game 4.

“There’s always something to prove,” said Kershaw, 1-4 with a 5.20 ERA in the postseason, including seven starts and three relief appearances. “This game is very humbling. People don’t care about what you’ve done in the past. It’s what have you done for me lately? People turn on you really fast, and I know that.”

No one is that skeptical of Kershaw just yet, but a strong performance today would help people forget about his Game 1 failure.

Kershaw has made only one other start on short rest. He was impressive in NLDS Game 1 last year, holding the Braves to three hits and one run and striking out 12 in seven innings as the Dodgers rolled, 6-1. After that 124-pitch effort, he returned on short rest for Game 4 and allowed two unearned runs in six innings as Los Angeles clinched with a 4-3 victory. “Obviously, I did it last year and felt OK about it,” Kershaw said. “But this year is a different year.”

Kershaw didn’t pinpoint exactly when Mattingly came to him with the idea of returning for Game 4 — “I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that,” he said — but he added that it happened “pretty quick” after Game 1.

The Dodgers had listed Dan Haren as today's starter right up until last night’s pregame news conference in which Haren was supposed to do interviews. Instead, Mattingly informed the media of the switch, which also sets up Zack Greinke to follow Kershaw in a possible Game 5.

There’s always the chance Kershaw could struggle on short rest. After all, it is something he’s not used to. But Mattingly believes he is a pretty safe bet.

“He’s back to business,” Mattingly said. “It’s Clayton Kershaw. These kind of guys don’t curl up and go away. They keep working and they keep going. So this is a different cat.”

They also don’t spend much time worrying about the past. Kershaw said he didn’t watch any video of that ugly seventh inning in which the Cardinals ripped him for five singles and a double before Pedro Baez replaced him and allowed a three-run homer by Matt Holliday.

“For me, it’s just a start-to-start thing,” Kershaw said. “I try not to look at all the numbers and all the stats. Just try to go out and try to win a game for us. That’s all I really do. It’s too hard to think about all that stuff. You try to stay as even- keel as you possibly can and just prepare for the next one.”