Game 1 of the MLB World Series was all sorts of historic for Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

His masterful performance on the mound helped them beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-3, to draw first blood in their best-of-seven affair. With the win, Kershaw earned his 12th postseason victory and tied legend Roger Clemens for the fifth-most in league history.

The 32-year-old Kershaw was dominant all game, striking out eight Rays. Overall, Tampa Bay hitters missed on 19 of their 38 swings against the eight-time All-Star. According to ESPN Statistics & Info, it's the first time in Kershaw's career that batters missed on 50 percent of their tries against him.

But the milestones for the Dodgers pitcher didn't end there.

Kershaw, who also allowed only a single run and three base runners in six incredible innings in Game 1, joined Justin Verlander as the only pitchers in MLB history with 200 or more strikeouts in the postseason. He moved past John Smoltz for the second spot on the all-time list.

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With his fifth World Series start, he also climbed into fifth place for most in Dodgers history since the team moved to Los Angeles, joining greats Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Burt Hooton and Don Sutton in the top five.

But Kershaw, who has a reputation for folding in the postseason, also needed a lot help from his teammates, particularly star hitters Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts who both nailed a home run. They became only the fifth pair of former MVP winners on the same team to HR in a World Series game.

Clayton Kershaw will try to continue his stellar showing for the Dodgers in Game 2 on Wednesday.