On Thursday September 18, 2025, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that legendary Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw will retire at the end of the 2025 season, which means his final Dodger Stadium regular season start will come against the San Francisco Giants on Friday September 19, 2025.
Kershaw has dominated the Giants throughout his career. He has a 27-16 record with a 2.08 ERA and 415 strikeouts in 62 games against San Francisco over the years.
All you have to do is take a look at even a few years of Kershaw’s early career to understand just how thoroughly he has dominated the Giants in his career.
From 2009-2014, pitched less than 6 innings against the Giants only once and surrendered more than two runs only twice in 24 starts against the Giants.
As much as Kershaw’s dominance has frustrated and confounded Giants hitters and fans, it has made it extra satisfying when they do have a good offensive performance against him.
Friday is sure to be a day full of plenty of festivities to honor Kershaw’s brilliant career. But from the Giants’ perspective, this is an opportunity to get the final word against a pitcher that has terrorized them for 18 years.
Giants fans would like nothing more than to see the Orange and Black spoil his night, especially if it means gaining ground in the playoff race.
Who On The Giants Has The Most History Vs. Kershaw?
When the Giants think of Kershaw’s classic foes in San Francisco, the natural names who come to mind are legends like Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval.
But who on the Giants’ current roster represents one of Kershaw’s fiercest foes over the years?
Unsurprisingly, one of the longest tenured Giants, and one of the Giants’ most consistent hitters against left handed pitching in recent years, has the most at-bats on the team against Kershaw.
That is first baseman Wilmer Flores. Flores has 10 hits in 44 at-bats against Kershaw in his career, with 1 home run, 5 RBI and a .618 OPS. Flores has played in the National League his entire career since he debuted in 2013, and has been a member of the Giants since 2021.
Opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers Pitcher: Clayton Kershaw Date: 8/31/19
It’s a small sample size, but the Giants’ best current hitter against Kershaw is Matt Chapman. Chapman has 3 hits in 8 at-bats against Kershaw, and 1 RBI.
Another narrative to watch for the Giants will be if they let top prospect Bryce Eldridge hit against Kershaw. They probably won’t, in favor of getting Rafael Devers and Flores in the lineup.
But what better way, theoretically, would there be to signal to Kershaw that his time is up than if Eldridge hit a home run off of him in his first and only clash with the legend?
Logan Webb’s New Status
With Kershaw now retiring, there will really only be 1 pitcher on either team that has been the mainstay of this rivalry for several years: Giants ace Logan Webb.
Webb has not been quite as dominant in his career versus the Dodgers as Kershaw has been against the Giants. In 19 starts versus the Dodgers in his career, Webb has a 6-7 record with a 4.69 ERA and 86 strikeouts.
But Dodgers fans saw what Webb is capable of against them in the 2021 NLDS. Back on October 8, 2021, Webb threw 7.2 shutout innings, allowing only 4 hits, striking out 10 batters and walking 0 to lead San Francisco to a 4-0 win over the Dodgers.
Webb is looking to pitch like he did in the 2021 NLDS against the Dodgers, and not like he pitched last week against them, when he takes the mound for the series opener on Thursday September 18, 2025, facing off against Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Giants fans, how will you remember Clayton Kershaw’s career? What are your predictions for his last start against the Giants?
The San Francisco Giants Have One Final Opportunity To Beat Their Longtime Nemesis