Clayton Kershaw's illustrious career will come to a close once the Dodgers play their final game of the year, he announced Thursday.

The 37-year-old lefthander spent each of his 18 seasons in Dodger blue. His final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium will come Friday night against the Giants as L.A. tries to hold onto their NL West lead on the Padres.

Friday night will be a celebration, of course, but there's also business to take care of and Kershaw certainly knows that. He was understandably choked up while speaking to the media Thursday following the life-altering announcement. After speaking to his retirement, Kershaw was asked about what he anticipates for his big and final start in the regular season Friday night. The response was absolutely perfect.

"I anticipate pitching good, Dave, alright?" Kershaw said with a laugh Thursday via SportsNet LA.

"This game matters for both teams. Of course, everybody's still in it and we got to win these games so it's good to get this out of the way today and [tomorrow] will be heightened I'm sure, but I got a job to do so I'm going to go out there and do my job and thankfully I'll have that to distract me."

This isn't just any last day at your job where you can just turn in your laptop and mail it in. The Giants are 2.5 games back of the Mets for the NL's final wild-card spot. The Dodgers (85-67) are hoping to increase their lead over the Padres in the NL West and eventually close out the division. The heightened energy will certainly be on their side, and their future Hall of Famer will do his best to get a win in his last go.

On the season, Kershaw has a 10-2 record in 20 starts with a 3.53 ERA and 71 strikeouts. Just two months ago he made history as the 20th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 punchouts in their career. Win or lose, he'll give Dodgers fans something to cheer about once more Friday night ahead of his potential postseason appearances.

Kershaw just hopes he can help the Dodgers find the win column once again.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Clayton Kershaw Shares Straightforward Plan for His Last Regular-Season Start.

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