Most Los Angeles Dodgers fans were well aware that the man typically referred to as the greatest pitcher in the game — Clayton Kershaw — had not been able to translate his regular-season successes.

Those led to three Cy Young awards (2011, 2013, 2014), given to the man considered the best pitcher in his league.

But then there was the issue of Kershaw and the playoffs, where he had struggled mightily.

Until tonight.

With the Dodgers in need of a strong performance by their ace left-hander after losing to the Cubs 8-3 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Kershaw threw seven innings of two-hit ball, with one walk.

The Dodgers led when he left the game, and Kenley Jansen’s two-inning save gave Kershaw his first championship series victory — against three defeats — and enabled the Dodgers to return to Los Angeles for three games with the series tied at 1-1, after the tense 1-0 victory at Wrigley Field.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway was a concession, by Chicago sports journalists, that the Dodgers may be more than a speed bump to that first Cubs championship since 1908.

Veteran columnist Rick Telander, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, conceded the defeat had awakened “Cubs Fear” — the fear of failing in the postseason that has been going on for, oh, a century.

He said the “fans in attendance who collectively were thinking pre-game, ‘The Cubs are so good, they just might sweep the Dodgers!’ Now, suddenly, it’s slightly possible the Dodgers could win three in a row in L.A. and the two teams won’t even come back to Chicago because the NLCS will be over.” Later adding, “The Dodgers aren’t patsies, folks.”

Which apparently had not occurred to anyone in Chicago, until Kershaw did his thing, taking a big step toward righting his statistical history in championship series games. (He had been 0-3, with a 7.23 ERA now it’s 1-3 and 5.26.) In a game that ended a bit before 5 a.m. in Paris.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times suggested Kershaw is the “best pitcher on the planet” — which is almost sacrilege in Chicago, where their own Jake Arrieta won the Cy Young Award last year.

In the same story, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs, who is 1-for-23 in the playoffs, was quoted as saying: “It’s not going to just be a cakewalk. It doesn’t matter if we’re facing a Double-A team; it’s not going to be a cakewalk this time of year.”

Over at the Chicago Tribune, Steve Rosenbloom also crowned Kershaw the “best pitcher on the planet” but suggested Cubs fans can take heart because the Dodgers’ other starters are not in Kershaw’s league.

Mark Gonzales of the Trib quoted Rizzo echoing the “best pitcher on the planet” thing, which apparently was the line du jour in the Cubs clubhouse.

Gonzales added: “Unfortunately for the Cubs, Kershaw represented a lesson in tough love if they’re going to advance to the World Series. They very well could face Kershaw again after they survived [Giants pitchers] Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner in the division series.”

So, it was an instance of Kershaw doing what he is expected to do in a championship series — for the first time in four starts.

The Dodgers remain underdogs — they didn’t win 100 games, as the Cubs did. Their pitching depth is not as impressive, behind Kershaw. The Cubs ought to have the better offense, too, though middle-of-the-order hitters Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell are a collective 5-for-67 in the postseason.

It was Kershaw’s night, with help from Adrian Gonzalez (homering for the only run) and Jansen. A man whose career so far suggests he is one of the best pitchers in the history of the game came through in a big way — when his team needed him to do just that.