The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 1-2 blow at the top of their batting order was exactly the one in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

Shohei Ohtani delivered a left uppercut to start the game and hit a home run to put the Dodgers on top. In the fourth inning, Mookie Betts scored with a two-run double. Then he roundhoused right in the sixth with a two-run homer that gave the Dodgers a five-run lead and effectively put the game away. Both times Ohtani walked in front of him.

For the game, the Dodgers’ first two batters went a combined 5-for-9 with two home runs and five RBI as the Dodgers took a 3–1 series lead. That level of production from the top two spots in the lineup forced The Athletic’s Jayson Stark to ask Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw if he’s ever had a batting order with that kind of double-barreled firepower from the start.

The ones that came to mind were the Houston Astros’ No. 1 and 2 picks, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman. But even with that compliment, Kershaw showed he still harbors a grudge against that 2017 team, as it was revealed they gained a significant advantage by stealing signs from the center field camera and relaying signals to the Astros hitters who told them what the throw was. coming.

Houston defeated the Dodgers in a seven-game World Series in 2017. Still, Kershaw’s memory on the matter isn’t crystal clear. For starters, Altuve and Bregman weren’t the top two hitters in the Astros’ lineup that season. George Springer (who won the World Series MVP) hit leadoff, followed by Bregman and then Altuve.

Neither Bregman nor Altuve hit particularly well over the seven games. Altuve hit .194 with a .670 OPS, though he collected two doubles, two home runs and six RBI. Bregman hit .233 with a .739 OPS, two home runs and five RBI.

But those numbers clearly don’t matter to Kershaw. He remembers when the Astros broke the rules and arguably stole a World Series from the Dodgers. (Kershaw was battered in Game 5, giving up six runs, four hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.)

Even if Kershaw and his teammates take that a little more personally, it’s likely — maybe even likely — that other players who faced the Astros in 2017 feel the same way. And they will likely never let go of that grudge, just like many fans who view the Astros as baseball’s supervillains.