Kershaw, Keuchel to hold rematch in pivotal Game 5 on Sunday

Reporting from Houston —  Dodgers vs. Astros

World Series, Game 5

At Minute Maid Park, Houston, Sunday, 5 p.m.

TV: Fox. Radio: ESPN Radio, AM 570, KTNQ 1020.

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Starting pitchers

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw

Astros: Dallas Keuchel

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Kershaw in regular season: 18-4, 2.31 earned-run average

Kershaw in playoffs: 3-0, 2.96 ERA

What playoff slump? Kershaw, who entered October with a 4-7 record and 4.55 ERA in 18 postseason appearances, has been brilliant this fall. The Dodgers have won all four of his starts. In the last two, the left-hander held the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros to six hits and two runs — both on homers — over 13 innings. The Astros, which reached triple digits in wins during the regular season, actually had a losing record against left-handers. Kershaw is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher, although opponents hit .149 this year against his knee-buckling curveball and he didn’t allow a hit on a change-up.

Kershaw on pitching in tiny Minute Maid Park: “I don’t think you can change anything based on where you’re at. It’s just a matter of making good pitches. As long as you’re making your pitches, [they] might hit one off the wall that [they’re] not supposed to, but other than that you can’t really change anything.”

Houston manager A.J. Hinch on Kershaw erasing a reputation for postseason struggles: “Guys like Kershaw, who have excelled every single step of the way, are going to beat it over time. I think everybody believes that. I don’t love that it was done against us … but I appreciate the journey that those guys had to take. Sometimes the narrative doesn’t fit the fact.”

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Keuchel in regular season: 14-5, 2.90 ERA

Keuchel in playoffs: 2-2, 3.00 ERA

Keuchel pitches well at Minute Maid Park, where he has a record of 36-20 with a 2.87 ERA in his career, including six wins and a 2.26 ERA in 11 starts this season. He has been especially sharp at home during the postseason, going 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA. In the World Series opener at Dodger Stadium, he gave up three runs — all on home runs — in a 3-1 loss. The Dodgers are hitting .309 against left-handers in the postseason, more than 50 points better than they did during the regular season. Keuchel typically throws his sinker more than his other five pitches combined, which is why two-thirds of the balls that are hit off him are hit on the ground.

What Keuchel said: “That’s going to be a fun Game 5, just based on I faced this team five days ago. And we’ll see what kind of adjustments they make to me and what kind of adjustments I made to them.”

Hinch on Keuchel facing the Dodgers again: “The elite pitchers, when they execute, you can see it over and over and still not hit it. So it comes down to execution and being able to adjust. Dallas, like a lot of great pitchers, will stay with his strengths until the other team proves otherwise. The key will be to harness the energy that comes with this building. He loves pitching at this place.”

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Follow Kevin Baxter on Twitter @kbaxter11