Clayton Kershaw didn’t hide behind the numbers. Sure, the Dodgers’ ace walked away with another win, extending a spotless August run, but the look on his face told you he wasn’t celebrating perfection. One batter into his latest outing, he already knew the night would be about survival, not dominance. The slider, his trusted weapon for more than a decade, wasn’t biting, and his arm didn’t have its usual snap. At 37, with 3,000 innings already carved into that left arm, he felt it right away.

That’s what makes Kershaw’s honesty so compelling. Most veterans with his résumé, three Cy Young Awards, a World Series title, and more than 2,900 strikeouts might gloss over a subpar night. Kershaw went the other way, openly explaining how he pieced together five innings on guts and adjustments. This

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