Shohei Ohtani's 39th Home Run Carries the Dodgers to 73rd Win of the Season

Clayton Kershaw made his fifth appearance of his 2024 campaign in the final series of the year against the St. Louis Cardinals this season where the Los Angeles Dodgers worked the pitching of the Cardinals down to the bone to cash in on a good Sunday.

Heading into this third and final meeting, the Dodgers announced before the game that Freddie Freeman would be scratched from the lineup due to a right middle finger injury. The team said that he hasn't been able to grip the bat and will be getting a CT scan on Monday, Aug. 19. Freeman is listed day-to-day for the foreseeable future.

Sonny Gray of the Cardinals came into this game with an 11-7 record but struggled throughout the first five innings of the game in his final inning of the game, he threw thirty-two pitches where he gave up his eighteenth home run of the year to Shohei Ohtani. In the end, Gray allowed seven hits, two errors, three walked batters, and the home run where he threw ninety-six pitches in total.

Through six innings, Kershaw kept the game scoreless with seventy pitches thrown before he was pulled out by the Dodgers. He had no errors, allowed four hits, struck out two batters, and kept his ERA this year at 2.63 to help boost the momentum for LA as they battled to win the rubber match against the Cardinals.

The efficiency from the pitching of Kershaw fueled the offense which allowed Miguel Rojas and Gavin Lux to both get three hits, while Ohtani and Mookie Betts scored the only two runs that the Dodgers needed to keep themselves up by one against St. Louis who looked to be in the verge of a comeback at the top of the eighth inning.

With every fan out of their seat in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers were able to get out of enemy territory with win No. 73 of the 2024 season where Ohtani's big home run in the fifth inning was the big push that LA needed to walk out of St. Louis with their momentum on top in their final meeting with the Cardinals.

The Dodgers will face the Seattle Mariners in their next series on Monday, Aug. 19 where LA is aiming to activate for the first time in Dodgers blue, the former Cardinal, Tommy Edman, while Max Muncy will be activated on Tuesday.

The Dodgers will be back at home to face off with the Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Baltimore Orioles before they hit the road at the end of August against the Arizona Diamondbacks who are still just as much alive as the San Diego Padres are as we reach closer to the end of the season.

For those keeping track, Kershaw is currently on strikeout No. 2963 of the season, he would certainly need a big push in the final stretch of the season which the Dodgers would not want to risk to see him get the record this year when the former triple crown champion is more than likely going to remain in Los Angeles for the rest of his legendary career.

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