Clayton Kershaw gets 1st win this season with 5 sharp innings as Dodgers beat Cardinals 7-3

Clayton Kershaw allowed one run in five innings to record his first win since last August, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Kershaw (1-0) threw 82 pitches, gave up six hits, struck out seven and walked none. The 37-year-old left-hander had not struck out at least seven since June 8, 2023, at Cincinnati, and his last win was also at St. Louis, on Aug. 18, 2024.

Tommy Edman drove in three runs with two hits and a sacrifice fly, and Mookie Betts homered for the Dodgers. Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff double and went 1 for 4.

St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy (1-1) was 7 years old when Kershaw made his major league debut on May 25, 2008, against the Cardinals. The 24-year-old right-hander, recalled from Triple-A Memphis to make his first start this season, gave up four runs in six innings.

Edman had an RBI single and Hyeseong Kim hit a two-run triple to put LA ahead 3-0 in the second. Edman added a run-scoring double in the fourth.

St. Louis scored against Kershaw in the fifth on a two-out RBI double by Masyn Winn.

Key moment

With a runner on third and two outs in the second inning, shortstop Winn fielded a hard grounder by Betts on the grass behind second base, twirled and fired to first baseman Willson Contreras for the out. The Dodgers unsuccessfully challenged the call.

Key stat

Kershaw, who is 17 strikeouts shy of 3,000 in his career, improved to 12-6 lifetime against the Cardinals.

Up next

Dodgers: Begin a three-game series at San Diego on Monday night with Dustin May (3-4, 4.09 ERA) on the mound.

Cardinals: At Toronto for a three-game series starting Monday nigth with Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.91) against the Blue Jays' José Berríos (2-2, 3.67).