LOS ANGELES — In a highly anticipated duel between two future Hall of Famers, Clayton Kershaw outpitched Max Scherzer, and a Mookie Betts home run helped lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
The matchup featured two of the game’s most decorated aces, both three-time Cy Young Award winners and members of the 3,000-strikeout club. Kershaw (6-2) earned the win, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out four over six effective innings. Scherzer (2-2) took the loss, surrendering two runs and six hits with five strikeouts across six innings of his own.
The Blue Jays struck first when Addison Barger delivered a two-strike RBI single off Kershaw in the second inning. Toronto’s 1-0 lead held until the fifth, when the Dodgers’ offense came to life. After a two-out, ground-rule double by Shohei Ohtani, Betts launched a 389-foot, two-run homer to left field, giving Los Angeles a 2-1 advantage.
The Dodgers broke the game open in front of a sellout crowd of 53,825 with a three-run seventh inning. Betts drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, and Will Smith followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk from reliever Louis Varland to force in another. Teoscar Hernández capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to complete the 5-1 scoreline.
Ohtani finished with three hits and scored two runs for the Dodgers. Daulton Varsho collected three hits for Toronto, whose three-game winning streak was snapped in the clash between division leaders.
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