Clayton Kershaw came back to Busch Stadium this weekend, and the St.Louis Cardinals didn’t really roll out the red carpet. Instead, they rolled out a tape for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star.

Before Sunday’s game, the stadium scoreboard flashed the tape of a painful memory. Matt Adams crushed a go-ahead three-run homer off Kershaw in the 2014 NLDS. It was the moment that had knocked the Dodgers out of the postseason. It was painful, and this clip played again and again and again. And Kershaw did notice.

Postgame, Kershaw addressed it. “It’s a little bush league. But I don’t expect anything less from these guys… No worries. No problem.” But amid the bullying noises, one not-so-subtle voice spoke. That was AJ Pierzynski.

On the recent Foul Territory podcast, the Cardinal-turned-podcaster spoke about the entire thing to Kershaw, who was a guest there. Pierzynski said, “That’s what I was getting to, the Kershaw thing, right? I know he was mad about it, and I did feel bad about that. It had nothing to do with Kersh, and he knows that—we’ve talked about it. It was more about Matt Adams, and I wasn’t on the roster, so I had nothing to do, and I had all this energy. So I apologize to Kersh.”

To lighten the mood, AJ even joked that Kershaw’s good luck charm was in St. Louis—aka him. “If you need me, just let me know—I’ll send you a Cameo or something, and we can get you hot anytime you need it.”

That aside, luck or not, Kershaw was hot. The veteran lefty struck out seven in the five shutout innings, helping the Dodgers avoid a sweep with a 7-3 win. It was Kershaw’s first seven-strikeout game since 2023. And it was his first start of the season following rehab for shoulder and knee issues.

As far as the trolling goes, Kershaw might not have appreciated the video reminder, but he got the last laugh for sure. Maybe next time the Dodgers need lady luck, they can sneak Pierzynski on the plane!

Dave Roberts downplays the Los Angeles Dodgers-Padres rivalry

Now, if you think that’s the only spicy thing that’s happened—well, actually, things are about to get hot on the West Coast. The Los Angeles Dodgers are headed to Petco Park. And if you are honest, any time the Padres and the Dodgers share the same field, it’s never just another regular game – it gets intense. However, while that has been the tangent all along, Dave Roberts disagrees.

According to the skipper, Monday’s matchup is totally chill, nothing extra. “Outside of it just being a division opponent and us trying to find a way to win a game, it doesn’t have any extra impact.”

For him, right now, the Dodgers are not playing the best baseball. But he thinks that the environment is going to bring out the best in them.

Well, to Roberts, sure, it is just another divisional game, with two of the most intense fan bases. Plus, a rivalry is brewing to get on top of the NL West. No big deal at all! But let’s be real. This series matters because the Padres are only a game out of first place and have been heating up after a turbulent May.

So, these three games surely feel like more than just routine games. Roberts himself did address the energy of the San Diego crowd. “Those fans, those players get up for playing us… Obviously the geography part of it, the rivalry part of it.” Well, this might not be the playoffs, but the tension IS real.

Get ready for the fireworks, whether you are a Dodger fan or a Friar faithful.