Shohei Ohtani failed to drive in a run during the Dodgers’ weekend series in St. Louis, but Los Angeles managed to win the series nonetheless. And on Sunday, a Mookie Betts home run and the bottom of the lineup helped Clayton Kershaw earn his first win of the season in his fifth start.
The Dodgers beat the Cardinals 7-3, holding a lead throughout the game. Kershaw pitched an effective five innings — Los Angeles has been keeping his work limited since he started taking the mound in the middle of May. He struck out seven batters and only allowed one run on six hits.
Kershaw moved into 20th place on MLB’s all-time strikeout list, passing former teammate Zack Greinke.
In addition to being supported by six relievers, Kershaw was able to secure the win thanks in part to three RBI from second baseman Tommy Edman and a pair from Kim Hye-seong.
Edman went 2-for-3 with a double and Hye-seong was 1-for-2 with a first-inning two-run triple. Max Munch and Will Smith both scored two runs each.
But even though the bottom of the order led the way, one of the Dodgers’ many superstars put the game officially out of reach with one swing.
An inning after the Cardinals cut into the lead and made the score 4-2, Betts crushed a pitch over the left field fence with two outs in the seventh. Betts’ home run was his ninth of the year and moved the advantage to a more comfortable three-run lead at 5-2.
It was Betts’s only hit of the game after recording three in each of the first two games of the series. Betts is now hitting .274 with 33 RBI in 59 games.
Ohtani was 1-for-4 and finished the series 3-for-12. He only has one home run in June, but his 23 still leads the National League.
The Dodgers head into the new week riding some momentum despite an up-and-down month. Los Angeles is 39-27 and 5-5 in its last 10 games.
However, the Dodgers’ next series in San Diego will prove even more pivotal one way or another — the Padres continue to nip on Los Angeles’ heels and sit just one game back in the National League West.
