Dusty Baker believes Clayton Kershaw doesn’t always come set when he pitches. (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nationals manager Dusty Baker offered a semi-hot take, without prompt, during his pregame press conference Friday: Clayton Kershaw ought to be penalized with more balks.

Asked to recall the first time he saw Kershaw, who will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series today for the Dodgers, Baker confessed that he couldn’t recall their initial encounter. Baker rattled off a few superlatives, then mentioned Kershaw’s charity work in Africa as an endorsement of his character.

Then he got to the balks.

“I know he’s tough to hit and he’s tough to run on,” Baker said of Kershaw. “Quite frankly I’m hoping we get some baserunners and the umpires might call a balk or two on him because he kind of rolls through the set position — which they don’t call — but I heard that really upsets him if they do call one. So I’m hoping they call maybe a couple of them.”

Here’s one of the three balks Kershaw committed this season, from a June game between the Dodgers and Braves:

Perhaps fortunately for Kershaw, Joe West is not umpiring this series.