Kershaw Holds Rays Scoreless, Dodgers Win 5-0 -

Quick Stats:

Clayton Kershaw(LAD): 0 IP, 5 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 3 Strikeouts(Win)
Shane Baz(TB): 0 IP, 8 Hits, 5 Runs, 2 Walks, 8 Strikeouts(Loss)
Freddie Freeman(LAD): 2-4, HR
Alex Freeland(LAD): 2-4
Shohei Ohtani(LAD): 2-4

LAD: 9 Hits,5 Runs, 2 Walks, 15 Strikeouts

TB: 6 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 8 Strikeouts

The Game Story:

1^st Inning: Mookie Betts leads the game off by grounding out to short. Shohei Ohtani draws a walk. Will Smith doubles to center to put runners on second and third with one out. Freddie Freeman doubles to score two runs and the Dodgers lead 2-0. Teoscar Hernandez flies out to right for the second out. Andy Pages lines out to the pitcher to end the top half of the inning. Yandy Diaz flies out to center—Ha-Seong Kim singles to left. Brandon Lowe flies out to center for the second out. Junior Caminero grounds out to third to end the inning.

2^nd Inning: Michael Conforto grounds out to first. Tommy Edman strikes out swinging for the second out. Alex Freeland strikes out looking to end the top half of the inning. Christopher Morel singles to left. Jonny Deluca singles to center to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Josh Lowe flies out to center. Jake Mangum grounds out to first for the second out, and both runners advance to second and third. Nick Fortes strikes out swinging to end the inning.

3^rd Inning: Mookie Betts grounds out to short—Shohei Ohtani singles on a broken bat infield single. Will Smith draws a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. Freddie Freeman strikes out swinging for the second out. Teoscar Hernandez strikes out swinging to end the top half of the inning. Yandy Diaz grounds out to short. Ha-Seong Kim lines out to left for the second out. Brandon Lowe singles to left. Junior Caminero grounds out to the pitcher to end the inning.

4^th Inning: Andy Pages grounds out to short. Michael Conforto doubles to left—Tommy Edman singles to center to put runners on first and third with one out. Alex Freeland singles to left to score a run to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0. Mookie Betts hits a sac fly to left for the second out, and the score is now 4-0. Shohei Ohtani singles to right to put runners on first and third with two outs. Will Smith strikes out swinging to end the top half of the inning. Christopher Morel strikes out on a foul tip. Jonny Deluca lines out to center for the second out. Josh Lowe strikes out on a check swing to end the inning.

5^th Inning: Freddie Freeman hits a home run to right to make the score 5-0. Teoscar Hernandez strikes out swinging. Andy Pages strikes out swinging for the second out. Michael Conforto strikes out swinging to end the top half of the inning. Jake Mangum grounds out to third. Nick Fortes pops out to first for the second out. Yandy Diaz grounds out to short to end the inning.

6^th Inning: Rays bring in Ian Seymour to relieve Baz. Tommy Edman flies out to center. Alex Freeland singles to left. Mookie Betts strikes out on a check swing for the second out. Shohei Ohtani strikes out looking to end the top half of the inning. Ha-Seong Kim flies out to right. Brandon Lowe reaches first on an error by Betts. Junior Caminero flies out to center for the second out. Wild Pitch moves the runner to second—Christopher Morel singles to left to put runners on the corners with two outs. Jonny Deluca flies out to center to end the inning.

7^th Inning: Will Smith strikes out swinging. Freddie Freeman strikes out swinging for the second out. Teoscar Hernandez grounds out to short to end the top half of the inning. Dodgers bring in Justin Wrobleski to relieve Kershaw. Josh Lowe grounds out to short. Jake Magnum strikes out looking for the second out. Nick Fortes flies out to right to end the inning.

8^th Inning: Rays bring in Garrett Cleavinger to relieve Seymour. Andy Pages lines out to right. Alex Call pinch hits for Conforto. Call grounds out to short for the second out. Tommy Edman strikes out looking to end the top half of the inning. Alex Call remains in the game in left field. Yandy Diaz grounds out to second. Ha-Seong Kim strikes out on a foul tip. Brandon Lowe strikes out swinging to end the inning.

9^th Inning: Rays bring in Mason Montgomery to relieve Cleavinger. Alex Freeland strikes out swinging. Mookie Betts flies out to right for the second out. Shohei Ohtani strikes out swinging to end the top half of the inning. Junior Caminero strikes out on a foul tip. Christopher Morel strikes out swinging for the second out—Jonny DeLuca singles to left. Josh Lowe lines out to left to end the game.

Final Score: Los Angeles Dodgers-5, Tampa Bay Rays-0

Dodgers Player of the Game

Freddie Freeman, who went 2-4 and hit a home run.

My Thoughts:

Clayton Kershaw looked great, and it was even more impressive to see him hold the Rays scoreless in the minor league park they were playing in. Alex Freeland, while still in the infancy of his big league career, has looked good so far. Getting game one in a series is always important, and this was a good Dodgers win.

Next Up: The Dodgers will send out a returning Blake Snell to face off against Drew Rasmussen. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 AM PST on Sportsnet LA.

Clay Gregory

Growing up and living in Oklahoma I fell in love with the game of baseball from an early age from playing T ball through High School. I have always had an admiration for the Boys in Blue with how the Dodger Way is the right way to play the game. Tommy Lasorda is my favorite manager of all time and my all-time favorite players are Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax, Pedro Guerrero, Mike Piazza and Clayton Kershaw. I am enamored with Dodgers history from the Brooklyn days when they were Dem Bums to the days of Fernandomania to Mannywood and beyond. Vin Scully will always be the best announcer the game has ever seen and it will always be time for Dodger baseball. I am married to the love of my life Melissa who gave me the inspiration to actually take on this crazy idea of writing about the Dodgers and without her support I would not be able to do what I love. My cousin Zach Chase and uncle John Chase for being a Dodger encyclopedia and sharing their knowledge with me. I will bring my perspective and love for the team to readers and I will most likely have spelling errors from time to time but I promise ill do my best on it. I want to bring you a unique perspective on your favorite team and also throw some humor along the way. I love to talk about baseball with anybody who will listen and I look forward to the Dodgers going back-to-back in their quest for another World Series Championship. Dodger Blue through and through.

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