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LOS ANGELES – When Giants fans think of Clayton Kershaw, who announced Thursday that he’ll retire at season’s end, it’s natural to also think of Madison Bumgarner.
For a good stretch of memorable games, they were must-watch entertainment as rival pitchers on rival teams with rival repertoires, two lefties determined to outduel the other, and the duels usually were intense, high-drama, and packed with emotion.
“From all I’ve seen over the years, as much as anybody in this game, they’re probably the two biggest competitors going head to head,” longtime Giants coach Ron Wotus said. “Everybody showed up to play when Bum took the mound. I think it’s been the same way for Clayton.”
Everyone will show up Friday night at Dodger Stadium, where Kershaw will make what could be his final start at Chavez Ravine. Against the Giants, of course. The team he beat 27 times, more than any opponent except the Colorado Rockies, 12% of his career win total of 222.
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Before the Giants’ 2-1 loss in Thursday’s series opener, Kershaw sat behind a microphone in the Dodger Stadium interview room, his wife and four kids in the front row, facing teammates and dozens of reporters — he fought back tears as he announced that his 18th season will be his last. The Dodgers are heading to the playoffs, but there’s no guarantee he’ll get an October home start considering their deep rotation.
“This game matters for both teams,” Kershaw said of facing the Giants undoubtedly for the final time. “We’ve got to win these games. It’s good to get this out of the way today. I’ve got a job to do. So I’m going to go out there and do my job. Thankfully, I’ll have (the game) to distract me.”
Of his 60 starts Kershaw against the Giants, 11 were with Bumgarner as the opposing pitcher, and Bumgarner held his own. The Giants won six of those games, and Bumgarner was 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA.
In the 11 shoot-outs, Kershaw was 3-4 with a 1.91 ERA. The lefties pitched against each other twice more when Bumgarner was a Diamondback.
“Watching them face each other, sometimes Bum was the only guy that could hit for us,” said former Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, who’s in L.A. as part of the Giants’ broadcast team.
Bumgarner famously hit two homers off Kershaw, on May 21, 2015, in a 4-0 Giants win, and on April 9, 2016, in a 3-2 loss (the bullpen blew a late lead).
The only Giant-Dodger pitching duels with more longevity were Juan Marichal and Don Drysdale (faced off 16 times) and Sal Maglie and Carl Erskine (13 times). For the sake of comparison, Kershaw opposed Tim Lincecum seven times and Logan Webb three times, including Saturday at Oracle Park.
Webb, who missed Kershaw in this series by a day, started Thursday’s opener and fared far better than his previous start when both he and Kershaw threw clunkers – the Giants scored four first-inning runs off Kershaw and chased him after three innings. Webb gave up six runs in four innings in a 13-7 L.A. win.
Thursday, Webb gave up two runs (one earned) in seven innings, but the Giants managed only one hit, Patrick Bailey’s second-inning single. It was Bailey’s error behind the plate (dropping Willy Adames’ throw) that led to the decisive run. The Giants walked 10 times and scored their only run when Rafael Devers drew a bases-loaded walk.
They’re three games out of the wild-card race with nine to play.
Robbie Ray gets Friday’s assignment, the third time he’ll oppose Kershaw. They built a nice relationship over the years – Ray remembered what a thrill it was to play catch with Kershaw before his first All-Star Game, and they reunited with their families (their kids are similar in age) at this year’s All-Star Game.
Giving Kershaw the ultimate compliment, Ray said, “He’s everything you could want in a human being and a teammate, just an all-around great guy.”
Giants fans have disliked countless Dodgers over the years, but Kershaw seems in a different category, respected for his skill, class, demeanor and the fact he’s spending his entire career with one team, a rare feat in baseball, reserved for folks such as Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard, Yadier Molina, and Buster Posey.
“Winning has always been my favorite thing,” Kershaw said. “We got to win in 2020 (the pandemic-shortened season). Even though I wasn’t a part of it in 2024, to win and get to be there for that was really special. Individual things, throwing the no-hitter was cool. The 3,000th strikeout was really special this year.”
Kershaw is going to the Hall of Fame, with three Cy Young Awards, an MVP, five ERA titles, and 11 All-Star selections, but Bumgarner has more postseason glory. The Dodger is 13-13 in the postseason with a 4.49 ERA while the Giant was 8-3 with a 2.11 ERA and a five-inning save for the ages in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. Plus three World Series rings. His 0.25 World Series ERA, one run in 36 innings, is lowest in history.
Not many Giants could say they hit Kershaw well. Among those with at least 20 plate appearances, Donovan Solano (.381) was the only .300 hitter. The next best was Marco Scutaro’s .286. Posey had four homers off Kershaw, Austin Slater three. Pence hit .261 but got better with experience. In 2017 and 2018, he went 12-for-23 – he said he had more success once he began to anticipate Kershaw’s slider.
On the flip side, Brandon Belt was mostly useless off Kershaw, hitting .099 in 81 at-bats. Bumgarner’s average vs. his nemesis was .227, better than a bunch of other Giants including several on this year’s roster.
“It was always exciting,” Pence said of the Bumgarner-Kershaw affairs. “Giants-Dodgers rivalry, two of the best pitchers of that era, two greats. It was tough for us. They were always working so quickly. You do all this prep work, and these dudes are just cruising through quick innings. They weren’t just competitive, they both had a high respect for each other as well.”
Kershaw has no plan to remain in baseball immediately after retiring as a player. He’s looking forward to becoming a full-time dad.
“I’m going to have enough kids to keep me busy,” he said. “I’m excited to not miss another game and watch all their baseball, volleyball, dance, soccer. What other sports do they play? Football, basketball, everything. I’m going to do that for a while.”