Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Above: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts (50) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning.
12:24 JST, August 13, 2024
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a home run and drove in three runs to mark his comeback from a broken left hand, Shohei Ohtani also homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Monday night.
Clayton Kershaw struck out six in his first win of the season and allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings to lead the Dodgers to the opening game of a four-game series between the NL Division leaders.
The Dodgers activated Betts from the injured list earlier in the day, having him play right field and bat second, with Ohtani at first. Betts had played primarily at shortstop and first this year before his hand was struck by a 98 mph fastball from Kansas City’s Dan Altavilla on June 16.
In his first at-bat of the night, Betts struck out a 2-2 slider by Freddy Peralta, putting the eight-time All-Star in a bind. But when he faced Peralta again two innings later, Betts hit a 2-1 fastball over the left-field wall to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, right, hits a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Betts also hit a two-out RBI single against Bryan Hudson in the seventh inning.
Ohtani hit a 424-foot drive to left-center on a 3-0 fastball from Peralta in the fifth for his 36th home run. Ohtani moved into a tie with Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna for the NL lead Monday.
Peralta (7-7) struck out four and allowed four runs, five hits and two walks in six innings. He got some help in the sixth inning when center fielder Garrett Mitchell jumped in front of the wall to catch a long drive from Gavin Lux.
Milwaukee cut Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2 in the sixth when William Contreras greeted Joe Kelly with a two-out, two-run homer to right field. Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez then hit back-to-back singles to put the potential tying run on base before Kelly retired Rhys Hoskins to end the rally.
The Dodgers added an insurance run in the seventh and held the Brewers scoreless the rest of the way. Daniel Hudson retired the side in order in the ninth inning for his 15th save in 16 chances.
Kershaw (1-2) had not thrown more than 4 2/3 innings in any of his three previous starts this year after undergoing offseason surgery to repair ligaments in his shoulder capsule. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has a 1.54 ERA in 10 career regular-season starts at American Family Field.
