LOS ANGELES -- At one point as he was warming up in the bullpen about 10 minutes before the first pitch of a highly anticipated game, Clayton Kershaw threw a breaking ball in the dirt. After catcher A.J. Ellis chucked the ball back to him, Kershaw flung it against the bullpen wall in disgust. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt fetched him a fresh ball.It seemed as if it was going to be an uphill fight after that, and it was. Kershaw's breaking balls were erratic and his ability to command his fastball more unreliable than usual for a while.