Rockies gave Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw rude awakening in potential MLB sendoff

Clayton Kershaw was as dominant a pitcher during his peak as anyone who's ever toed the rubber in the Majors—especially from 2011-2014, when he captured three Cy Young Awards in four years.

Not to mention, he was named 2014 NL MVP after posting a 1.77 ERA with 239 strikeouts over 198.1 innings and a 21-3 record to show for it. He also threw six complete games with two shutouts.

Kershaw is just one of four southpaws to record 3,000 punchouts over his career, joining Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, and CC Sabathia.

During his 19-year MLB career, all with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was a thorn in the Rockies' side, to put it nicely.

Anytime Colorado saw Kershaw on the mound, it almost seemed like a guaranteed win for the Dodgers.

Heck, anytime Colorado saw him on the mound at Dodger Stadium, you knew it was time for them to pack their bags and move onto the next game.

Kershaw sported a 29-11 (.725) record over 52 starts against Colorado, recording 324 strikeouts to just 91 walks over 316.2 innings pitched.

He was even solid at the not-so-friendly confines of Coors Field, going 14-8 with a 4.53 ERA.

To put it in perspective, Kershaw recorded 29 wins against Colorado while the Rockies' franchise leader for wins, Jorge De La Rosa, recorded just 86 wins over his entire career.

On June 18, 2014 at Dodger Stadium, during his MVP season, he threw a no-hitter against the Rockies, recording 15 strikeouts as six Rockies struck out multiple times.

Wilin Rosario was the lone Colorado player to strike out three times.

We all thought Kershaw's last outing against the Rockies came on August 21, 2025, when he went 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out three in LA's 9-5 win over Colorado at Coors Field.

Kershaw announced his retirement in September 2025, which eventually ended with a World Series title as he mentioned he was at peace with the decision.

However, the left-hander wanted to give it one more go for the World Baseball Classic, and the Rockies may have got the last laugh on him.

Kershaw entered in the fourth inning, and the very first batter he faced was Mickey Moniak, who jumped on a 2-0 offering that didn't even look like a strike—high and inside—and sent it over the fence in right for a solo home run.

He walked Rockies catcher Braxton Fulford before getting TJ Rumfield out for the second out of the inning. Team USA head coach Mark DeRosa then turned to Rockies farmhand Carson Skipper to record the final out.

Skipper gave up a two-run shot to Kyle Karros, putting Colorado ahead 4-3. Kershaw was charged with one of those runs, finishing his outing with 0.2 innings pitched, two runs allowed on one hit.

It was a cool moment when Kershaw was pulled. He later described it as special as the crowd at Salt Rivers Field at Talking Stick gave the future Hall of Famer a standing ovation.

It felt surreal, too, considering this is probably the last time we'll see Kershaw pitch—he's only an emergency option for Team USA if they need him.

Former Rockies player turned broadcaster Ryan Spilborghs also cracked some jokes at Kershaw's expense after his outing.

Hell of a career for the southpaw who terrorized the Rockies for 19 years, but Colorado got the last laugh in a storybook ending.