Clayton Kershaw pitched well in his penultimate Spring Training start and David Peralta hit a home run to help the Los Angeles Dodgers go .500 in their split-squad games with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
Kershaw was part of a Dodgers contingent that included multiple regulars also making the trip to Goodyear Ballpark. He was staked an early lead thanks to James Outman’s RBI double in the first inning and David Peralta hitting a three-run homer in the second.
The homer was Peralta’s first of Spring Training and it also represented his first hit since returning from the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Peralta went 0-for-2 with a walk in Monday’s loss to the Colorado Rockies.
The Guardians immediately cut into their deficit as two base hits set the table for Cam Gallagher’s double. Those two runs were all Kershaw allowed over five innings of work.
He finished with three strikeouts, picked up one pitch timer violation and stretched out to 71 pitches. Next for the left-hander is a start in the exhibition Freeway Series before likely taking the ball in the Dodgers’ second game of the regular season.
Dodgers bullpen backs Kershaw
While the offense went quiet after Peralta’s home run, a stable of Dodgers relief pitchers did their part to protect the lead.
Brusdar Graterol followed Kershaw with a scoreless inning out of the bullpen despite allowing two singles and being called for a balk.
Yency Almonte also pitched through traffic to keep the Guardians off the board in the seventh, Shelby Miller worked a clean eighth and started the ninth inning with a strikeout before giving way to Wander Suero. The multi-inning appearance was Miller’s first of the spring.
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