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It has been 50 years since Sandy Koufax last pitched in the major leagues, but his legacy still looms large, as vast as the sun that shines over Dodger Stadium on a cloudless Southern California afternoon. Indeed, in our #MLBRank of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all time, this was the order of the top three:1. Sandy Koufax 2. Randy Johnson 3. Clayton KershawI suppose that order isnt even necessarily so controversial -- I suspect some might scoff at Kershaw, just 125 wins into his superlative career, ranking ahead of the likes of Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton and Lefty Grove -- but Im here to suggest this: I believe the panel is wrong.Sandy Koufax, mythological figure and all, isnt the greatest left-hander of all time.The declaration for Koufax as best ever rests with his five-year run of dominance that ended in 1966 with his retirement at the peak of his powers, no longer willing to endure the cortisone shots to dull the pain in his elbow.To take a shot every other ballgame is more than I wanted to do and to walk around with a constant upset stomach because of the pills and to be high half the time during a ballgame because youre taking painkillers, I dont want to have to do that, he said at his retirement announcement.Lets start here, and with apologies to Spahn, Carlton and the criminally underrated Grove, compare our top three guys and their best five-year runs:In those five seasons, Koufax led the National League in ERA all years. In two of those seasons, he missed some time with injuries, but in the other three he topped 300 innings and compiled win-loss records of 25-5, 26-8 and 27-9, win totals that seem almost unfathomable in todays games of pitch counts and five-man rotations and quick hooks for starters.Its an impressive record, no doubt; Koufax won three Cy Young Awards and an MVP award (and finished second in two other votes). In 1963, he threw 11 shutouts. In 1965, he struck out 382 batters and held batters to .179 average while throwing 27 complete games -- more than Kershaw has thrown in his career.It was, of course, a different era, a good era for pitchers, and few places were better to pitch than Dodger Stadium, then notorious for the highest mound in baseball. Koufaxs ascent in 1962 to the best pitcher in the game coincided not just with a sudden improvement in his control, but with the opening of Dodger Stadium. And Koufax loved Dodger Stadium. His home/road splits from 1962-1966:Home: 57-15, 1.37 ERARoad: 54-19, 2.57 ERAHe was most extreme in 1964, when he posted 0.85 at home and 2.93 on the road. Despite the ERA difference, note that there wasnt a large difference in win-loss record. Dodger Stadium was simply a tough place to hit, and Koufax took advantage of that. He could allow more runs on the road yet still win games. Thats where the ERA+ figure above comes in. That number attempts to adjust for home park effects and the overall run-scoring environment of the league. So while Johnson has the highest ERA of the three, he has the best adjusted ERA (higher is better). Its close, but Koufaxs domination is now put into a different perspective. Then we look at Wins Above Replacement, and Johnsons five-year total exceeds Koufaxs.Then the kicker: These arent even the five best seasons of Johnsons career. He won four straight NL Cy Young Awards with the Diamondbacks from 1999 to 2002, but 1998 -- when he was traded from the Mariners to the Astros -- was a ho-hum 19-11 season with a 3.28 ERA. In 1997, hed gone 20-4 with a 2.28 ERA. In the strike-shortened 1995 season, he went 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA.Even if you think Koufax had the best five-year peak, how can you rank him over Johnson, who had the same or better peak and a much longer career?On the other hand ... we still have the Koufax mythology, the World Series wins, electing not to pitch on Yom Kippur, the credit everyone seems to give him for the what if phase of the rest of his career that never happened. He started seven World Series games, with an 0.98 ERA. He lost three of those games, though he gave up a total of just three earned runs in those defeats. Most famously, he started Game 7 of the 1965 World Series on two days of rest and threw a three-hit shutout.Johnson, meanwhile, won three games in the 2001 World Series, but also struggled at times in the postseason and once went seven starts in a row without a win. Kershaw has his postseason apologists and while he was better in last years division series, he has yet to deliver that signature playoff performance that well be talking about 50 years later and is 2-6 with a 4.45 ERA in 10 starts.So theres something to the Koufax legend that matters beyond the statistics. We want those stories, we want performances to tell the next generations about, to remind them we love the game.So if you want Koufax as your No. 1 guy, I understand. But Johnson tops my list. Hes the greatest left-hander of all time.At least until we see what Kershaw does over the next decade. Custom Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. 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PHILADELPHIA -- Despite another loss, Aaron Nola looked more like the Phillies current and future ace on Saturday.Nola lost his fourth straight game after giving up five runs on six hits in five innings in Philadelphias 6-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.Nola (5-8) hadnt gotten past 3 2/3 innings his three previous losses, and the 23-year-old right-hander has a 13.50 ERA during his skid. There were signs of encouragement, though, as Nola finished by retiring 10 straight batters.The last three innings, he looked like his old self, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. I was very encouraged. He wasnt trying to do too much and was relaxed.The Royals scored all five of their runs off Nola in the second inning.Kendrys Morales did the greatest damage, putting the Royals up 5-1 with a three-run home run to right field. Normally Kansas Citys designated hitter, Morales has played right field the last two games because manager Ned Yost wanted to keep his hot bat in the lineup.It was the third straight game with a homer for Morales, who extended his hitting streak to eight consecutive games by going deep in the second inning. He is batting .565 with seven homers and 21 RBI in his last 13 games.Hes carrying us a little bit right now, Yost said.The Royals tied the game at 1 on starter Danny Duffys first major league hit and RBI, a bunt single that was popped up into a perfect spot between the pitchers mound and shortstop. Duffy had been 0 for 10 with five strikeouts this season.Ill take it, Duffy said. It just worked.Whit Merrifields RBI single to right with two outs put Kansas City ahead 2-1 before Morales drive.Nola shut Kansas City down from that point, but Mackanin pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the fifth after the right-hander threw 95 pitches.I felt really good today, even in the second inning when I hung a curveball, Nola said. I thought I had pretty good stuff today.The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first on Maikel Francos single that bounded off Duffys outstretched glove to score Peter Bourjos, who reached with a triple to extend his hitting streak to 11 straight games.ddddddddddddPhiladelphia looked poised to score again in the fourth, but Alcides Escobars stellar defense saved a run. Escobar sprinted deep in the hole at shortstop to field Cesar Hernandezs ground ball and threw to second for a force play on Carlos Ruiz for the final out.Hernandez and Franco had two hits and an RBI each for Philadelphia, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.No offense to speak about, Mackanin said.The Phillies were shut down by Duffy (4-1), who allowed two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks while setting a career high for innings. The left-handers previous best was eight innings, which he tied in Mondays win over St. Louis.The 27-year-old Duffy recorded the first two outs of the ninth but was lifted for Joakim Soria after Hernandezs RBI single.He said that prior to Saturday hed never gotten an out in the ninth inning at any level of baseball. Duffy lobbied Yost after the eighth inning to stay in the contest.Its cool to finish a game, Duffy said. (Yost) gave me the opportunity and Im grateful for it.Merrifield and Cheslor Cuthbert added a pair of hits for the defending World Series champion Royals, who finally gained some ground on Cleveland in the AL Central after the Indians had their 14-game winning streak snapped in Toronto. Kansas City trails the Indians by six games.SLUMPING PHILLIEPhiladelphias Tommy Joseph went 0 for 3 with a strikeout, extending his slump to 0 for 17 with seven strikeouts.UP NEXTRoyals RHP Yordano Ventura (6-5, 5.00) opposes Philadelphia RHP Vince Velasquez (6-2, 3.38) on Sunday in the conclusion of the three-game series. ' ' '