Ernie Johnson Defends Clayton Kershaw's Collapse, 'His Legacy Is Fine W/ Me'

Ernie Johnson is callin' BS on fans throwing dirt on Clayton Kershaw after his latest postseason debacle ... telling TMZ Sports, "His legacy is fine with me."

Kershaw gave up back-to-back home runs in the 8th inning against the Nationals in their NLDS finale Wednesday night ... and L.A. fans were PISSED he blew the game.

They ran over his No. 22 jersey in the parking lot ... they trashed him on Twitter ... and they bashed him on local radio.

When we got Johnson -- who did play-by-play for the Game 5 -- he told us everyone in L.A. needs to pipe down with that chatter ... saying Kershaw is still a legend in his book.

"I don't know what happens to his legacy," Johnson says ... "You know what? His legacy is fine with me."

Johnson says Kershaw's been plenty successful on the field ... and the fact that he's such a good dude off of it cements him as one of the game's greatest in his book.

But, Ernie does admit ... it would be nice if Clayton were able to somehow string together a postseason performance that lifts the Dodgers to a title.