Clayton Kershaw's no-matter-what-it-takes play would have made an excellent move on a soccer field

On Saturday night, the Dodgers rode a sterling start from ace lefty Clayton Kershaw to a 3-1 win over the Pirates, erasing a 1-0 deficit with a three-run burst in the seventh.

Kershaw was dazzling on the evening, throwing seven innings of one-run baseball, only a couple hits and one run a blemish on his box score. The man was focused, throwing nasty curveballs and sliders and doing whatever it took to get the job done.

This commitment to effort led to an admittedly unusual play in the second inning when Bryan Reynolds grounded to first base. Kershaw caught the toss from Max Muncy on his hustle over to the bag, but then something happened. Kershaw, perhaps inspired by a mix of desperation and inspiration from watching a soccer game at some point in his life did ... this:

Kersh can do it all. 😳 pic.twitter.com/zlbEGqgwhw

— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2019

They say "don't slide headfirst into first base, ever," but that usually applies to the hitter. Kersh's max-effort play might have been dramatic enough to earn a yellow card (or a red!) on the soccer field, too, as referees don't always appreciate the slide-tackling efforts of defenders.

Fortunately for Kershaw, he plays baseball, and it was just a wild, spur-of-the-moment play that led to an out, so all's well.