ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Gabriel Moreno 1st inning home run sparks Diamondbacks explosion vs. Clayton Kershaw

Oct 7, 2023, 6:53 PM

Gabriel Moreno #14 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits a home run off Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los A...

Gabriel Moreno #14 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits a home run off Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning during Game One of the Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Gabriel Moreno blasted a three-run home run to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 5-0 lead in the first inning before Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw recorded an out.

Moreno’s moonshot to left came after being removed from Game 2 of the National League Wild Card series with a head injury.

It was Moreno’s second homer of the postseason and followed hits by Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, Tommy Pham and Christian Walker to get things started for the D-backs in their first appearance in the National League Division Series since 2017.

For Kershaw, the October nightmares reappeared like a Halloween movie.

The future hall of famer, who sports a 2.48 career ERA in the regular season has seen that number balloon to 4.22 over 11 seasons worth of playoff games entering this game.

He would eventually get pulled after conceding one more run on an Evan Longoria double and recording just one out.

Emmet Sheehan would replace Kershaw to finish the inning but not before the D-backs batted around the order. Marte, the team’s leadoff hitter, made the final out of the inning with Arizona sitting on a 6-0 lead.

Catch all the action on the Arizona Sports app, 98.7 or ArizonaSports.com.

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