Clayton Kershaw's bold response to Dodgers' struggles might be the message they needed

Even after a rough sweep at the hands of the Brewers over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers are still right where they need to be. They're still among the best teams in the league and they still have the star power to roll through the postseason.

But just because they have those things going for them doesn’t mean that everything is going great for them, and Clayton Kershaw seems ready to talk about those struggles. 

After the Dodgers’ loss to Milwaukee on Sunday, Kershaw held court with the media after his start and didn’t mince his words when asked how the game went. 

“I don’t make anything of it,” Kershaw said when asked about the sweep. “They beat us and we need to play better tomorrow. “I don’t have much to say. I’m going to get myself in trouble so let’s just call it.”

Well, OK then. If the longest-tenured player on the team is as frustrated as can be during the team's current stretch, then that should send a message to the rest of the clubhouse.

Clayton Kershaw's bold response Dodgers' struggles might be the message they needed

The good news for Kershaw is that his team seemed to listen, as they came out on Monday and picked up a big win over the Twins highlighted by a two-run home run by Shohei Ohtani and a strong bulk outing from Dustin May. However, they lost a slugfest on Tuesday by a score of 10-7, so there's still plenty of work to do.

On Friday they let a quality outing by Tyler Glasnow go by the wayside when the offense failed to score a run. On Saturday, Emmett Sheehan got lit up and the offense struggled in a game where they were behind the eight ball. A day later, Kershaw was let down by his team’s defense behind him in a bit of a truncated outing. 

In other words, it was the first time in a long time where the Dodgers have looked this vulnerable over an extended stretch. And it was good on Kershaw to say something about what he saw.

It is worth noting that, in classic Dodger fashion, Monday's win also came with a huge roadblock since Tanner Scott left the game after feeling a “sting” in his forearm. Any kind of forearm injury is scary, but this one feels especially ominous, especially after Dave Roberts' comments.

The Dodgers have dealt with a variety of injuries this year and can’t afford to lose another reliever, but this team has persevered through these obstacles before. Hopefully some brief and impactful messaging from their future Hall of Famer helps turn the tides this week.

Lo and behold, the Dodgers - down to their last strike - rallied and prevailed in a late flurry to defeat the Twins on Wednesday evening. Win another one and that's called a streak.