Getting off to a good start this week was important to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who suffered back-to-back devastating extra-innings losses to the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend. Thankfully, Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw showed up at the right time.
Ohtani's two home runs, giving him 48 for the season, and Kershaw's almost six-inning outing helped the Dodgers secure a 5-2 win on Sunday.
It was important for Los Angeles to get the victory as it keeps the Dodgers up by one game over the second-place San Diego Padres in the National League West Division.
Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) on X
Shohei Ohtani's day:
HR
HR
BB
BB
BB
It's also nice that the MLB schedule gives the Dodgers a home series starting Monday against the hapless, 100-plus-loss Colorado Rockies. Talk about getting a chance to get well soon. This series could help Los Angeles heal what has been ailing them recently.
Kershaw struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings of work in what was his first career start at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Dodgers bullpen, which has been a major headache for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, managed to come through in the clutch. Jack Dwyer earned his second save of the season.
"I wanted to get through six there," Kershaw said after the game. "I made two bad pitches there the last two sliders, so [it’s] frustrating not to get out of that. But I thought overall it was a decent day stuff-wise, and the guys in the back of the ‘pen picked me up."
Louis Addeo-Weiss (@addeo_louis00) on X
Most seasons of 10 Wins and a sub-3 ERA in the live-ball era:
- Tom Seaver, 12
- Clayton Kershaw, 10
- Greg Maddux, 10
- Roger Clemens, 10
Kershaw is 10-2 with a 3.27 ERA this season.
Year 18, and still great.
Shortstop Mookie Betts also homered in the victory as his early-game dinger helped the Dodgers take a 3-0 lead after three innings. The Orioles didn't put up much of a fight in this contest, thanks to Kershaw's excellent work.
Ohtani hit homers in his first two at-bats, setting the tone for a win.
"Obviously, [that’s] Shohei, right?" Betts said. "But it just shows the vibes were high today. We had really good energy today before the game. We had [Kershaw] taking the mound, so obviously we have a lot of confidence there. Shohei jump-starting it lets us know we’re fine."
Dodgers fans hope that good energy carries over this week as the MLB season winds its way toward postseason play.