Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández each hit a solo home run in the first inning but the Los Angeles Dodgers went quiet from there in a 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
Clayton Kershaw didn’t have his usual command and labored while falling short of completing five innings. He routinely was getting ahead of batters, only to struggle, if not fail, to put them away after getting to two strikes.
That cost Kershaw in the second inning as a leadoff walk and double set the table for Jarren Duran’s game-tying, two-run triple. Andy Pages’ route didn’t do Kershaw any favors.
Kershaw did retire seven batters in a row before Alex Bregman’s two-out single in the fifth inning. It led to more trouble as Roman Anthony followed with an RBI double that hit off the Green Monster. Anthony to that point improved to 2-for-2 with a walk against Kershaw and chased him from the game.
Meanwhile, Crochet was undeterred by the early power swings from the Dodgers. He held them to just the two runs over xx innings and collected xx strikeouts. It marked the 11th time in Crochet’s career with at least 10 strikeouts and his fifth such start this season.
That’s not to say the Dodgers didn’t have their opportunities at making more headway. Freddie Freeman singled in the first inning but was thrown out an aggressive attempt to go to third base.
Hyeseong Kim twice singled to keep an inning alive, only for Ohtani to strike out in both instances. Hernández walked in the fifth inning but was thrown out on a curious stolen base attempt when he represented the tying run at the time.
The Dodgers ran into another out in the seventh inning when Will Smith attempted to stretch his single into a double.
Mookie Betts back with Dodgers
Mookie Betts joined the Dodgers at Fenway Park after attending a funeral service for a family member in Tennessee. However, he didn’t arrive in time to be in the lineup but was used as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning.
Betts battled back from an 0-2 count to work it full before being called out on strikes. He represented the tying run at the plate. The Dodgers matched a season high with 15 strikeouts in the game.
Betts is expected to be back in the Dodgers lineup on Sunday after missing the first two games at Fenway Park.
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