“It’s Kershaw day,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts exclaimed before his club hosted the San Francisco Giants for the final game of the series, which featured Clayton Kershaw returning from the 60-day injured list.
Kershaw underwent offseason shoulder surgery, and it was a long road back for the southpaw, who is now in his 17th season with the club.
“I’m excited,” Roberts said. “I think Dodger Nation is excited. I know Clayton is excited. I’m sure there’s some nerves with him. It’s been highly anticipated and the timing is what we expected.
“So I think for us, it’s just go out there and watch him compete, which we know he is going to do and try to win a ball game. But this is a big day for all of us and Clayton’s had a long road and I’m happy to finally get to the finish line.”
Despite the excitement from fans, players, and coaches, Roberts did not want to put any expectations or limits on Kershaw heading into the start.
“I think if we could get him into the fifth inning, that would be great,” Roberts said. “Obviously depends on each inning and how the stress is, the amount of pitches. If it’s the fourth inning, if it’s the third inning, the main thing is to get him feeling good after the outing as far as health to make the next one.
“And so then after that, we have the coverage for him. But that’s the most important thing. So yeah, there is going to be some restrictions.”
Kershaw ended up pitching four solid innings, giving up two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Both runs came in the third inning when the Giants strung together four consecutive hits, but the future Hall of Famer rebounded with three straight strikeouts to end the frame.
The Dodgers scored the first run of the game when Kiké Hernández singled home Gavin Lux, who reached on a walk. After the Giants took the lead, Lux doubled in the fourth and scored when Hernández followed with a double as well.
Austin Barnes singled home Hernández to put the Dodgers up 3-1, and it extended his hitting-streak to 11 games. That marks a season-high for any Dodgers batter, and a career-best for Barnes.
Andy Pages singled to open the fifth inning, and Lux followed with another hit to put runners at the corners. Jason Heyward then hit into a double play, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-2.
Alex Vesia entered in the eighth and allowed a pair of doubles that put the Giants within one run. Blake Treinen took over with two outs and promptly allowed a weak single that tied the game at 4-4.
Nick Ahmed plays hero for Dodgers
With the game now tied in the eight, Nick Ahmed blasted a solo home run against his former team to put the Dodgers ahead 5-4. Ahmed was just signed by the club on Wednesday, and he was released by the Giants just over one week ago.
Following Ahmed, Shohei Ohtani hit a solo homer of his own to make it back-to-back home runs. It’s the eighth time the Dodgers have done that this season.
Brent Honeywell pitched the ninth inning to earn the save, securing a Dodgers’ series victory with a 6-4 win.
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