Clayton Kershaw pitched the final regular-season home game of his 18-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, welcomed and sent off with standing ovations a day after announcing his decision to retire at season’s end.
Kershaw’s longtime warmup song, “We Are Young” by Fun, blared as fans held up camera phones to capture the moment as the game began. The cheers quickly turned to boos when San Francisco Giants leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos turned on an 86-mph slider for a 431-foot home run.
But the cheers returned after Rafael Devers took a called third strike leading off the fifth. Manager Dave Roberts came to the mound and hugged Kershaw as his teammates on the field, in the dugout and in the bullpen joined the crowd in applauding the 37-year-old left-hander as he departed.