Clayton Kershaw shines as Dodgers beat Reds 6-3
The Los Angeles Dodgers kept their slim lead in the National League West with a 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, thanks to another masterful performance from Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw, pitching on four days’ rest, allowed just one run over five innings to earn his fifth consecutive victory, his longest streak since late 2022. Despite a diminished fastball averaging 88 mph, the 37-year-old left-hander retired the last 14 batters he faced, striking out six and allowing only four hard-hit balls, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
“I didn’t have a lot of life on the fastball, or really anything,” Kershaw admitted. Yet he relied on a mix of pitches—his slider, curveball, and a new splitter—to keep the Reds off-balance in a 72-pitch outing. Manager Dave Roberts praised Kershaw’s creativity and adaptability: “In that fourth inning, you could see he felt like he could throw anything. That’s really cool to see.”
Offensively, the Dodgers erased an early 1-0 deficit in the first inning. Mookie Betts walked, Freddie Freeman doubled, and Betts scored on an error by Reds left fielder Austin Hays. Los Angeles took the lead in the fourth on contributions from Teoscar Hernández, Michael Conforto, and Kiké Hernández, who returned from an elbow injury.
The Dodgers broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning. Catcher Will Smith hit a leadoff home run, Miguel Rojas followed with a two-run double, and Shohei Ohtani added an RBI single, snapping a 1-for-16 slump.
Relievers Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott closed out the game scorelessly. Left-handed reliever Alex Vesia was placed on the injured list pregame with a mild right oblique strain but is expected to return after 15 days.
On the minor-league front, rookie pitcher Roki Sasaki made his third rehab start for triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing three runs in 3 ⅔ innings. His fastball reached 98.8 mph, his highest since returning from a shoulder injury, signaling promising progress before his anticipated return to the majors.
With the win, the Dodgers improve to 76-57, keeping a one-game edge over the Padres with 29 games left in a tight NL West race.
Similar news
