A week after the 2025 World Series came to an end, even today, I still watch some highlights of the Fall Classic. Of course, some highlights are about pitching performance. While watching those highlights, I’m just thinking about the pitching performance of the Dodgers pitchers.
The Dodgers have a rich history in baseball. In the postseason, which Dodgers pitchers had a tremendous job? To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs website.
Firstly, let’s take a look at innings pitched, on the top of the leaderboard, the player is certainly a well-known one. Clayton Kershaw made 32 starts and 9 relief appearances for the Dodgers in the postseason. He threw 196.2 innings. In 2017, 2018 and 2020, he each tossed at least 30 innings for the Dodgers in the playoffs.
At the same time, Walker Buehler made 18 starts and 1 relief appearance for the Dodgers in the postseason. He threw 94.2 innings. There are 2 times that Buehler tossed 20+ innings for the Dodgers in the postseason. The first one was in 2018 and the other was in 2020.
Meanwhile, Don Sutton made 10 starts for the Dodgers in the postseason. In total, he threw 72.2 innings for the Dodgers in the postseason. In particular, he threw 30 innings in the 1974 postseason.
Moreover, Kenley Jansen made 57 relief appearances in the postseason, throwing 63.1 innings for the Dodgers. Also, Fernando Valenzuela made 8 starts and threw 63 innings for the Dodgers. In 1981, he threw 40.2 innings for the Dodgers in the playoffs.
In addition, let’s look at the strikeout leaders. Clayton Kershaw threw 213 strikeouts in the postseason. There are only 2 pitchers who throw at least 200 strikeouts in the postseason and you can’t ignore Kershaw’s name. In the meantime, Walker Buehler struck out 114 batters in the postseason. Kenley Jansen struck out 92 batters for the Dodgers in the postseason. From 2016 to 2019, Rich Hill struck out 62 batters for the Dodgers. And Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax threw 61 strikeouts for the Dodgers in the postseason.
Finally, let’s look at the saves leaders for the Dodgers in the postseason. Kenley Jansen has 20 saves in the postseason so far in his career. 20 saves rank 2nd most in MLB history. As a Dodger, he had 19 saves in the postseason. Furthermore, Blake Treinen has picked up 5 saves for the Dodgers in the postseason. Jonathan Broxton made 13 relief appearances for the Dodgers in the postseason and he had 3 saves. And Roki Sasaki made 9 relief appearances for the Dodgers this postseason and he got 3 saves.
When we look at the Dodgers history, it’s hard to ignore 2 names. Clayton Kershaw had done so much for the Dodgers. He tossed so many innings for the Dodgers in the playoffs. He’s the only Dodger who has thrown at least 100 innings in the postseason. Moreover, Kenley Jansen made 50+ relief appearances for the Dodgers in the postseason. Well, of course, there were ups and downs. Nonetheless, they did help the Dodgers win the World Series. In the short-term, it’s highly impossible to see another Dodger reach their records. But maybe, maybe, a Japanese player could be a strong candidate. Let’s wait and see.
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