In other words, the first game of the World Series will mark Lin Guanglai's debut at Dodger Stadium, and it will also be the first time in his career that he faces Kershaw as both a pitcher and a batter.

As soon as the matchup for the World Series was set, professional sports commentators across North America made predictions about the series' outcome—

Most shared the view that while the Dodgers have home-field advantage due to their superior record, this so-called advantage might actually turn into a Damocles' sword hanging over their heads.

The reason for this perspective is quite simple:

Since the Los Angeles Dodgers are a National League team, the games played at Dodger Stadium will follow National League rules, which means no designated hitter, and both pitchers will have to bat;

This situation is undoubtedly a major boon for the New York Yankees, who have the MLB's only Dual Swordsmanship player—Kershaw is undeniably a historical-level great pitcher, but if one were to evaluate his batting at an MLB standard, it's basically negligible.

As it gets closer to 6 PM Pacific Time, in front of nearly 60,000 cheering fans, the opening ceremony of the 2017 World Series officially begins.

Led by head coaches Dave Roberts and Joe Girardi, the players from the Dodgers and the Yankees lined up on either side of home plate, waiting to exchange handshakes after the U.S. national anthem was played;

Afterward, today's first pitch was thrown by the family of the late Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson, who came to the pitcher's mound and threw the ball towards home plate. Lin Guanglai, leading off as the offensive player, took a swing, drawing thunderous applause from the entire stadium.

Jackie Robinson was a pioneer of the racial equality movement in Major League Baseball, promoting racial integration during an era when baseball was still dominated by white players. His number 42 jersey was retired by all teams in the league;

Choosing to have his family be present for today's first pitch, aside from Robinson's status as a Dodgers legend, also served as a consideration by MLB's officials to bring closure to the recent incident.

The applause following the first pitch ceremony had barely subsided when, as the Dodgers' fielders took their defensive positions and Clayton Kershaw walked to the pitcher's mound for his final warm-up, Dodger Stadium erupted once more with the loudest cheers and screams of the day.

Moments later, Lin Guanglai, fully equipped with his batting gear and protective equipment, walked nonchalantly into the left batter's box, assuming an aggressive batting stance.

Against Kershaw, Lin Guanglai's attitude was highly respectful: even though he is considered by many professionals and peers as the "most game-ready player," he still approached the matchup with Kershaw with the mentality of a challenger.

Before the game, there was talk that, after the Yankees defeated the Astros, the peak form of Lin Guanglai, who had broken the single-postseason home run record, would effortlessly take down Kershaw and help the Yankees win the first game.

After all, past data from many seasons show that this Cy Young Award-winning ace, dominant in regular seasons, often experiences a significant drop in performance during the postseason:

Kershaw in the regular season is a historic-level legendary left-handed pitcher, with a career average ERA of just 2.36, he's the lowest in the live-ball era, nearly the theoretical ceiling for modern pitchers, capable of suppressing any batter single-handedly;

But meanwhile, he's also been criticized for his postseason performance—an average ERA of 4.55 isn't bad, but it's certainly not what you'd expect from a pitcher of his elite caliber. The repeated meltdowns at critical moments in games make it even less satisfactory. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Looking at these numbers, such a narrative seems to somewhat hold water; however, in Lin Guanglai's opinion, criticizing Kershaw like this is completely unfounded and even somewhat absurd.

Kershaw's less-than-ideal postseason performances are a result of various factors at play:

Firstly, the postseason sample size itself is small; 29-year-old Kershaw has only pitched in 18 games, totaling 89 and a half innings in the postseason so far. Also, the Dodgers haven't been considered a powerhouse team for a long time. With a small sample size, one or two bad pitches in a game can ruin the data;

Secondly, Kershaw's pitching features inherently don't quite suit the postseason format:

As a curveball-reliant pitcher, facing postseason batters with enhanced ability to adjust to pitches, his curveball often gets taken, forcing Kershaw to challenge them in the strike zone with fastballs.

Compared to his top-tier 12-6 curveball, Kershaw's fastball only clocks in a little over 93 mph, with a swinging strike rate of just 7%, lacking the innate suppressive power against batters compared to the likes of Verlander and Scherzer, whose fastballs average 97-98 mph and above.

Additionally, since Kershaw isn't the kind of "short-rest beast" like Curt Schilling, in the high-intensity, short-interval postseason, declines in velocity and spin caused by stamina loss directly lead to him being punished by batters.

The narrative around Kershaw being a "postseason choker" is often amplified by the media primarily due to his standout status:

If he were just an average pitcher or even an All-Star, nobody would care about a postseason ERA in the 4's;

The problem is that his name is Clayton Kershaw, arguably the greatest player in Los Angeles Dodgers history and the entire baseball community, a three-time Cy Young Award winner destined for the Hall of Fame—the media's microscope is naturally focused on him, and fans have higher expectations.

Much like the current Lin Guanglai, a great pitching performance from him would hardly cause much stir because, subconsciously, many people feel that's the performance expected of him; but if he gets rocked by some team, the media would pounce like predators.

In the top of the first inning, the Yankees didn't gain any advantage over the well-rested Kershaw:

Lin Guanglai made contact with Kershaw's outside slider, but his swing didn't quite connect solidly with the ball, resulting in a grounder to third base that was fielded by Justin Turner, who threw him out before he could reach base.

Just this one at-bat was enough for Lin Guanglai to feel the terror that is Kershaw:

A left-handed pitcher naturally suppresses left-handed batters, combined with a full arsenal of pitch types—that subtle sense of being overpowered, not even Cy Young Award winners like Corey Kluber, Dallas Keuchel, or Justin Verlander had ever made him feel that way.

Of course, the Yankees had anticipated such a scenario before the game started, so when Lin Guanglai returned to the dugout, he didn't show too much frustration and instead refocused on his pitching duties.

In the bottom of the inning, when Lin Guanglai took the mound, he also retired three batters with three strikeouts, with Chris Taylor, who hit 21 home runs this season, Justin Turner with 27, and Cody Bellinger with 39, all striking out against him.

Unlike Kershaw's style, Lin Guanglai's pitching emphasized sheer force, with precise control, sending fastballs clocking over 100 mph flying into the Dodgers' strike zone.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, standing outside the home team's dugout, also showed a look of 'anticipated' expression, remaining calm and composed.

The pace of this World Series Game 1 was remarkably swift, though neither side managed to break the stalemate and score, the overall content was far from dull, exhibiting a back-and-forth offensive and defensive showcase.

Both offensively and defensively, players from both teams demonstrated extraordinary skills, with strikeouts and brilliant plays abound, leaving the spectators in the stands dazzled and overwhelmed, drawing continuous exclamations of amazement.

The MLB's elite talent, performing on the highest stage of world baseball, delivered an exceptionally thrilling opening act;

Yet this is, after all, a formal competition, destined to have a winner and a loser. As blades are drawn, this game calls for a hero to stand out.

In the Yankees' dugout, Lin Guanglai touched the "WS (World Series)" patch embroidered on his right sleeve, feeling the texture in his palm, and gazed with a sense of resolve towards the pitcher's mound.