PHOENIX — Clayton Kershaw has never been worse than he was in Game 1 of this National League Division Series. The Dodgers are convinced he will be better in Game 4.

Manager Dave Roberts reiterated Wednesday that Kershaw will start the elimination game on Thursday night if the Dodgers are able to extend the the best-of-five NLDS with a win in Game 3.

“I believe in Clayton ’til the end,” Roberts said. “I think that his track record, the recency of what he’s done – certainly it was the worst outing of his career, but I still believe that there’s a good one in there.

“I just don’t see it any other way, knowing that there’s going to be other guys behind him. But as far as starting a potential Game 4, I feel very good about that. I hope I get that opportunity.”

Kershaw has said his poor performance in Game 1 was “nothing health-related” despite the ongoing limitations of a shoulder injury that landed the future Hall of Famer on the injured list for six weeks at midseason. Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior gave the Diamondbacks credit for having “a good gameplan” against Kershaw and couldn’t pin down one issue to address between starts.

“We’ve looked at a lot of different things,” Prior said. “But at the end of the day, they’re here for a reason. They hit the ball really well and did the things they usually do. … I don’t think there’s one thing that we’re going to be able to say, ‘Oh, that’s the reason, this and that.’ There were probably multiple factors. But at the end of the day, they were better than we were that day.”

If Kershaw does start on Thursday, it will be the first time since May 21 that the three-time Cy Young Award winner will only have four days between starts.

“Well, it was a short outing,” Prior said, tongue in cheek referring to Kershaw lasting only 35 pitches in Game 1. “That’s a factor – it is what is. That’s just kind of where we’re at right now, the time in the season. We ask guys to do a lot of different things they haven’t done before. We knew that going into it. We tried to give him that week in between each outing these last three or four outings. But we knew we were going to have this day come when he’d have to go on regular (rest). He’ll be ready for it. His body will be ready.”

NEW LOOK

Even though they were facing a right-handed starting pitcher for a third consecutive game, the Dodgers rolled out a different lineup for Game 3 with right-handed Kiké Hernandez starting in center field instead of lefty-hitting rookie James Outman. J.D. Martinez was moved up to third in the order with Will Smith dropped to fifth. Smith batted third in 118 of his starts this season and fourth twice.

“I think for James just to kind of get a little reset, let the game happen, potentially come into a spot to pinch-hit, to play defense, I think would be of benefit,” Roberts said. “As far as Will and J.D., I think that J.D. has obviously been taking really good at-bats, and potentially to get him that fifth at-bat (by batting higher). Let the game come to Will in the five, I think that’s a good thing.

“I’m very kind of not reactionary, but I think there’s a point – and this is the point clearly when you’re down 0-2 – to move things around a little bit.”

Hernandez’s postseason experience was a factor in starting him ahead of Outman, Roberts said. Outman was 0 for 5 with three strikeouts in the first two games with a defensive misplay in the first inning of Game 1.

Hernandez, meanwhile, is a .269 hitter with an .891 OPS and 13 home runs in 71 career postseason games with the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox – numbers that he has never matched in a full regular season in the major leagues.

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“I’m no mental performance coach, no brain doctor or anything,” Hernandez said when asked to explain his postseason success. “Just the way I put it is – I like to be in the moment. I want to be in the big moment. I want the big at-bat.

“I feel like I’ve been preparing for these types of moments my entire life. I never just dreamed about playing in the big leagues, but I always envisioned myself, as a little kid, playing in the World Series, a big moment in the World Series.

“I think possibly a little bit of it comes with culture. In Puerto Rico, at a very young age, games mean a lot. And you’ve got parents on the other side talking a lot of smack. So when you’re a young kid and you get exposed to that at a very early age, it kind of prepares you for the bigger picture.”

UP NEXT

NLDS Game 4 – Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw, 0-1, 162.00 ERA) at Diamondbacks (RHP Merrill Kelly, 1-0, 0.00 ERA), Thursday, 6:07 p.m., TBS, 570 AM