The Los Angeles Dodgers closed out their homestand with a 6-4 win against the San Francisco Giants on an afternoon that saw Clayton Kershaw return from left shoulder surgery and Nick Ahmed get revenge against his former team.
Kershaw allowed two runs and collected six strikeouts over four innings pitched. He struck out four batters in a row from the third to fourth innings.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts anticipated a shorter outing from Kershaw in his 2024 debut, due in some part to not completing more than four innings in any of his three starts while on rehab assignment.
The Dodgers spotted Kershaw a 1-0 lead behind Kiké Hernández’s RBI single in the second inning. But after two efficient frames, Kershaw ran into trouble in the third. That amounted to the Giants taking a 2-1 lead.
Strikeout No. 1 of 2024 for No. 22.
(: @MLB) pic.twitter.com/47CspJPj1R
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) July 25, 2024
Public Enemy No. 1 is back.
(— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) July 25, 2024
Mood.
(— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) July 25, 2024
Clayton Kershaw brought the swing-and-miss with him.
(— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) July 25, 2024
Back-to-back blasts from Nick and Shohei.
(— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) July 25, 2024
The Dodgers responded in the bottom of the fourth on a game-tying RBI double from Hernández.
Then Austin Barnes, who had already extended his career-best hitting streak to 11 games, put the Dodgers back ahead with an RBI single. The Dodgers had runners at the corners with nobody out in the fifth inning but only managed one run when Jason Heyward grounded into a double play.
Alex Vesia’s struggles carried into Thursday as he allowed two runs in the eighth. He was rescued in the bottom half of the inning by Ahmed and Shohei Ohtani combining for back-to-back solo home runs that put the Dodgers ahead for good. The Dodgers have hit back-to-back home runs eight times this season.
Brent Honeywell became the ninth different Dodgers pitcher to convert a save this season. The save was Honeywell’s first of his career.
Next for Dodgers
Now having improved to 6-1 since the All-Star break, the Dodgers begin an eight-game road trip Friday night against the Houston Astros.
That’s going to be followed with series against the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics over a 10-day stretch.
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