Clayton Kershaw steps with his right foot, turns his body, and pivots his left foot. He lifts his right leg and his connected arms at the same time, lowers them all, and then pauses for a split second before unleashing each pitch.
That delay within his delivery Kershaw has executed since high school gave the Houston Astros trouble in Tuesday’s World Series opener at Dodger Stadium. They knew it was coming, but that advance knowledge proved insufficient.
“You can look at all the video you want,” said third baseman Alex Bregman, whose solo shot supplied the Astros’ lone run in their 3-1 loss. “Until you get in the box with somebody, you don’t really know what their stuff looks like out of their hand.
“I think his little timing mechanism played a bit of a factor for some of us that never saw him before. You had to sync up everything with that.”
Bregman, center fielder George Springer and first baseman Yuli Gurriel had never faced Kershaw. Brian McCann had faced him only in the postseason, oddly enough. And the Astros’ other four starters had taken 23 combined plate appearances against the Dodgers ace.
Springer struck out three times in three chances. His teammates struck out eight more times against the left-hander. In total, the 11 were the most any starting pitcher had against the Astros in 2017. Springer said their failings were directly connected to their lack of experience standing 60 feet from Kershaw.
“It’s hard when you haven’t seen somebody,” Springer said. “Video doesn’t do it any justice. Until you get in the box and you see what the ball does, the depth, the angle of it, the video can only take you so far.”
And there was another factor, both Astros said. Plate umpire Phil Cuzzi provided Kershaw the benefit of the doubt on borderline pitches, aiding his efforts.
“If you’ve got a veteran guy who’s getting the marginal pitches, you know you’re in for a tough night, a battle,” Bregman said. “He took complete advantage of getting those marginal pitches. He pitched where he needed to pitch. He pitched down in the zone.”
The Astros appeared to get caught in a high-stakes game of waiting. They opted against swinging at 14 of Kershaw’s first 25 pitches. Instead of forcing him to overexert himself in the stifling heat, their patience permitted Kershaw to finish two quick innings because he threw strikes.
“He landed his breaking ball a little bit better than we’ve seen in the past, but he’s tough,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He showed it tonight by being in attack mode, being in the strike zone early and got us pretty defensive from the get-go.”
The results were a relic of an earlier Astros era. Four years ago, they struck out 10% more often than anyone else in MLB. But, this season, they struck out in only 17.3% of their plate appearances, the major leagues’ lowest rate. They struck out nearly a quarter less often than the Dodgers.
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Justin Turner and Clayton Kershaw hug after defeating the Astros in Game 1.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 2/30
Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jensen points to the sky after getting the final out.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 3/30
Clayton Kershaw is congratulated by coaches and teammates after the Dodgers beat the Astros, 3-1, in Game 1.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 4/30
Justin Turner connects for a two-run homer off Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel in the sixth inning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 5/30
Justin Turner hits a two-run home run aginst the Astros in the 6th inning in Game 1.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 6/30
Yasiel Puig congratulates Justin Turner after he hit a two-run home run aginst the Astros in the 6th inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 7/30
Teammates happily greet Justin Turner after he hit a two-run homer off Houston starter Dallas Keuchel.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 8/30
Chris Taylor, left, congratulates Justin Turner who hit a two-run home run aginst the Astros in the 6th inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times ) 9/30
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw touches his nose with his tongue during the seventh-inning stretch during Game 1 of the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 10/30
Enrique Hernandez catches a fly ball by Astros Josh Reddick inthe 8th inning in Game 1.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 11/30
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel looks up at a foul ball as he strikes out against Clayton Kershaw.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 12/30
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is greeted with high-fives in the dugout after a succesful third inning sacrifice bunt.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 13/30
The Astros’ George Springer strikes out against the Dodgers in Game 1.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 14/30
Clayton Kershaw flashes a look of disgus after giving up a solo homer to Alex Bregman in the 4th inning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 15/30
The Dodgers’ Kiki Hernandez is tagged while striking out by Astros catcher Brian McCann in the 5th inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 16/30
Corey Seager tries to break up a fifth inning double play as Astros second baseman Jose Altuve relays a throw to first on a grounder by Logan Forsythe.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 17/30
The Dodgers’ Corey Seager hits a single against the Astros in the 5th inning in Game 1.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 18/30
Dodger Cody Bellinger’s jersey in Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 19/30
Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor runs towards first base after hitting a solo home run off the first pitch of the game against Houston Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 20/30
Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor gets a hand slap from Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach George Lombard after hitting a solo home run off the first pitch of the game against Houston Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 21/30
Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Houston Astros.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 22/30
Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor homers on the first pitch from Houston Astros starter Dallas Keuchel.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 23/30
Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor hits a solo home run off the first pitch of the game against Houston Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 24/30
Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Houston Astros.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 25/30
Dodger fans cheer as pitcher Clayton Kershaw gets a strikeout against the Astros in the 1st inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 26/30
Clayton Kershaw gave up one hit with 11 strikeouts in seven innings against Houston in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 27/30
Comedian and Dodger fan George Lopez waves a flag above the home team’s dugout before game one of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 28/30
Fans cheer opening ceremonies as Dodgers reserve Joc Pederson sits alone in the dugout before Game 1.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 29/30
Police, fire and military personnel unfurl a large U.S. flag before the start of Game 1.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 30/30
Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw warms up in the outfield before the start of the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Springer said the strikeouts were not an indication of increased passivity. He said the results proved only that Kershaw was good.
“I think that’s just a product of him throwing the ball well,” Springer said. “When his slider can move like that, he’s hard to hit. He made it look like a strike and it was a ball, and then it looked like a ball and it was a strike. He just did a great job of commanding the plate tonight.”
Bregman believed the Astros found their timing toward the conclusion of Kershaw’s seven innings. The final five hitters to face him all put the ball in play. Though only one meant a hit, the contact gave Bregman confidence.
“We’ll be ready next time we face him,” Bregman said.
pedro.moura@latimes.com
Follow Pedro Moura on Twitter @pedromoura
