Mariners' classy tribute to Clayton Kershaw has Dodgers fans on their side in October

Clayton Kershaw received a hero's sendoff when he was taken out in the bottom of the fifth on Sept. 19, the last regular season start at Dodger Stadium of his 18-year, Hall of Fame career with the Dodgers — but that was to be expected. Dodgers fans knew the day of his retirement was coming sooner rather than later, but the emotion at Chavez Ravine was palpable, and fans were hanging onto every strike.

What was more of a surprise was Kershaw's send-off at T-Mobile Park, where he pitched the last regular season start of his career against the Mariners on Sunday. He took the Dodgers through 5 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts — his last out was a swinging K on Eugenio Suárez — before Freddie Freeman came out to take the ball (which Kershaw refused to give him and ended up pocketing himself).

While there were some Dodgers fans in attendance, Mariners fans (who had completely packed T-Mobile) were on their feet for Kershaw as Freeman walked over from the dugout, and roared as he tipped his hat to the crowd. The M's even threw up a congratulatory graphic on the scoreboard and posted a tribute on social media. How's that for class?

Mariners pay tribute to Clayton Kershaw after last regular season start for Dodgers

Giving Kershaw a much-deserved pat on the back was a surefire way to win over Dodgers fans, many of whom were quick to say that they would be rooting for the Mariners to win the American League pennant.

Seattle is headed to only their third postseason since 2000, have their first division crown since 2001. Despite being swept by the Dodgers to end their regular season, the M's went 17-8 in September with a 10-game winning streak in the middle of the month.

While the Mariners are a prospective World Series opponent for the Dodgers, it won't be hard to root for those guys if LA doesn't get that far. This is a team that couldn't even get to the World Series when they had legends like Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martínez and Randy Johnson on the roster at various points — but fans in Seattle have a feeling that this year is different.

They came back from a seven-game deficit behind the Astros in early July, and now the Astros are staying home in October for the first time since 2016.

If it does come to a Dodgers-Mariners World Series, LA will have admirable foes on their hands.