On Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers mounted a late-inning comeback to secure a 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The win was highlighted by a historic milestone from Clayton Kershaw, who recorded his 3,000th career strikeout, becoming the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to reach the mark.
The Dodgers entered the game as strong favorites, listed around -210 on the moneyline, while the White Sox were priced as underdogs near +180. Despite the odds, it took a dramatic ninth-inning rally for Los Angeles to extend its recent run of success.
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Los Angeles put together a three-run surge to overcome the deficit. Michael Conforto led off with a single, followed by consecutive walks to Tommy Edman and Hyesong Kim issued by reliever Grant Taylor, who took the loss and fell to 0-1. Shohei Ohtani grounded into a forceout that brought in a run, cutting the lead to 4-3. Mookie Betts then hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at four, and Freddie Freeman delivered the decisive blow with a sharp single to right field, driving in Ohtani to give the Dodgers the walk-off win.
The victory marked Los Angeles’s 14th in its last 17 games and clinched the club’s seventh consecutive series win.
Earlier in the contest, Kershaw struck out Vinny Capra looking at a slider to close out the sixth inning, reaching the 3,000-strikeout milestone in his 18th major league season. He joins fellow active pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in the exclusive club. Kershaw threw a season-high 100 pitches over six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and striking out six. He also struck out Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa earlier in the game.
Offensively, the White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first on Andrew Benintendi’s two-out RBI single. The Dodgers responded quickly, tying the game in the bottom half when Will Smith hit his 11th home run off White Sox starter Sean Burke. Andy Pages added a solo homer to lead off the second, briefly giving Los Angeles a 2-1 advantage.
Chicago reclaimed the lead in the third with a two-run homer from Austin Slater and extended it to 4-2 on Edgar Quero’s RBI bloop single.
In a concerning moment during the sixth inning, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy suffered an apparent knee injury while tagging out Michael A. Taylor on a steal attempt. Muncy remained on the ground following the play and was evaluated by team medical staff. The team later reported he was dealing with left knee pain. Taylor, who collided with Muncy, was also examined and was said to have a bruised left trapezius.
Looking ahead, the Dodgers will hand the ball to right-hander Dustin May (4-5, 4.68 ERA) in Thursday’s series finale. He will face Chicago right-hander Aaron Civale (1-4, 4.74 ERA), who will be making his first start against Los Angeles.
