Clayton Kershaw put together his best start of the season and Shohei Ohtani inched closer to making franchise history as the two combined to help lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
That not only clinched the series at Busch Stadium but ended with a winning record on their road trip at 4-3.
Kershaw’s six innings pitched marked the longest of his five outings this year. That previously was 5.2 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers last week. Sunday’s game was the first time Kershaw completed six innings since June 27, 2023.
Kershaw was plenty efficient throughout the afternoon as he allowed just one hit and needed only 31 pitches to complete three innings. He then had faced one over the minimum and was through five innings on 57 pitches.
Kershaw’s performance bought more time for the Dodgers to eventually break through against Sonny Gray.
Gavin Lux was stranded after hitting a two-out double in the first inning when Victor Scott II made a running catch into the wall in center field to rob Teoscar Hernández.
Kiké Hernández and Austin Barnes reached in the second inning, only for Nick Ahmed to strike out.
The Dodgers threatened again in the third behind a single from Mookie Betts, Lux’s second double of the game and a Teoscar Hernández walk that loaded the bases. Miguel Rojas, who had already extended his hitting streak to 10 games, grounded into an inning-ending double play.
It wasn’t until the fifth inning that the Dodgers found success against Gray, beginning with a leadoff home run from Shohei Ohtani. That gave Ohtani back-to-back games with a homer, and ran his overall total to 39 as he closes in on the first 40-40 season in Dodgers franchise history.
Moreover, Ohtani’s line-drive home run had a 113.5 mph exit velocity. That is good for third-most home runs with at least a 113 mph exit velocity in a single season since Statcast data tracking began in 2015. Giancarlo Stanton holds the MLB record with 18 such home runs in 2017. Aaron Judge’s 15 long balls with a minimum of 113 mph exit velocity — also in 2017 — ranks second.
The top of the Dodgers lineup kept pressure on Gray, with Betts drawing a walk and Lux ending a nine-pitch at-bat with a single that put runners at the corners. Rojas atoned for his missed opportunity with a two-out RBI base hit that proved to be the difference.
Dodgers bullpen
Although Kershaw had only thrown 70 pitches, his afternoon came to an end at six innings.
A beleaguered Dodgers bullpen backed him with one inning each from Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson and Michael Kopech. Hudson was the only of the three right-handers to give up a run, allowing a solo homer to pinch-hitter Lars Nootbaar in the eighth inning.
The save was Kopech’s second with the Dodgers, with both coming during the Cardinals series.
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