Clayton Kershaw earned his first victory of the 2025 season with a sharp five-inning performance, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The result allowed the Dodgers to avoid a sweep in the three-game weekend series.
Kershaw, making just his fourth start since returning from offseason surgeries, delivered his strongest outing. The veteran left-hander allowed one earned run on six hits over five innings. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk, throwing 82 pitches in his first win since August 18, 2024, which also came against the Cardinals. It was the first time he recorded at least seven strikeouts in a game since June 8, 2023.
Los Angeles entered the contest as modest road favorites, listed around -120 on the moneyline by most sportsbooks. The total for the game closed at 8.5 runs, which was surpassed by the Dodgers’ early offensive surge and steady production through the middle innings.
Tommy Edman contributed significantly for Los Angeles with three RBIs, collecting a pair of hits and a sacrifice fly. Mookie Betts added a solo home run, while Shohei Ohtani led the game with a double and finished 1-for-4. The Dodgers built an early cushion by scoring three runs in the second inning and one more in the fourth.
Edman’s RBI single and Hyeseong Kim’s two-run triple in the second opened up a 3-0 lead. Edman followed with a run-scoring double in the fourth to make it 4-0. The Cardinals scored their only run off Kershaw in the fifth inning on a two-out RBI double by Masyn Winn.
St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy took the loss in his second career Major League start. The 24-year-old right-hander, recalled from Triple-A Memphis before the game, allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings. McGreevy, who was only seven years old when Kershaw made his MLB debut in 2008, showed flashes of promise but couldn’t contain the top of the Dodgers’ lineup.
The Dodgers added three more runs in the seventh, extending their lead to 7-1 before the Cardinals scored two late runs in the eighth. However, the St. Louis offense was held in check for much of the afternoon, and the Los Angeles bullpen preserved the lead.
Winn also made a notable defensive play in the second inning, ranging behind second base to field a sharp grounder by Betts before spinning and firing to first for the out. The Dodgers challenged the play, but the call on the field was upheld.
Kershaw’s outing brought him closer to another career milestone, as he now sits 17 strikeouts shy of the 3,000 mark. He improved his career record against the Cardinals to 12-6.
The Dodgers will begin a three-game series in San Diego on Monday night, with right-hander Dustin May (3-4, 4.09 ERA) scheduled to start. The Cardinals head to Toronto to face the Blue Jays, sending Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.91 ERA) to the mound in Monday’s opener.
