MILWAUKEE — Mookie Betts homered and drove in three runs to mark his return from a broken left hand, Shohei Ohtani also went deep, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Monday night.

Clayton Kershaw struck out six in his first win this season, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings as the Dodgers took the opener of a four-game series between NL division leaders. Los Angeles (70-49) tied the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians for the best record in the majors.

“The biggest thing for us is we’re getting some guys back,” Kershaw said. “We’re getting our lineup the way we want it to. We’re getting some guys starter-wise, reliever-wise, everything. We’re having our team look like what we want our team to look like. I think you’ll see us kind of start to take off here pretty soon.”

Related Story: All Hail Teoscar Hernández, the Dodgers’ King of Cool in Series Sweep

Up Next

RHP Gavin Stone (9-5, 3.71 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers against RHP Colin Rea (10-3, 3.38) on Tuesday.

Betts Returns to Lineup With Impact

The Dodgers activated Betts from the injured list earlier in the day and had him playing right field and batting second, with Ohtani leading off. Betts primarily had been playing shortstop and leading off this year before his hand got hit by a 98 mph fastball from Kansas City’s Dan Altavilla on June 16.

In his first at-bat of the night, Betts struck out swinging at a 2-2 slider from Freddy Peralta that sent the eight-time All-Star flailing. But when he faced Peralta again two innings later, Betts ripped a 2-1 fastball over the left-field wall to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Betts also hit a two-out RBI single off Bryan Hudson in the seventh.

“I know Mookie was happy to get back and help his teammates,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, it’s a lot more fun writing his name in the lineup.”

Related Story: Hernández, Ohtani Homer as the Dodgers Beat the Phillies in Opener Between NL ...

Ohtani Continues Power Surge

Ohtani hit a 424-foot drive to left-center on a 3-0 fastball from Peralta in the fifth for his 36th homer. Ohtani entered Monday tied with Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna for the NL lead.

It was the first time in his career that Ohtani homered on a 3-0 pitch.

“Just being aggressive overall throughout the at-bat was important for me,” Ohtani said through a translator. “But also, recognizing that Mookie, Freddie (Freeman) and Teo (Teoscar Hernández) were behind (me). I think being aggressive, even on a 3-0 count, would be smart.”

Peralta (7-7) struck out four while allowing four runs, five hits and two walks in six innings. He said he missed his intended location on the pitch to Betts but didn’t know what he could have done differently against Ohtani.

“It was a 3-0 count, but it was a ball away, and he still got there,” Peralta said. “There’s nothing I can do.”

Peralta got some help in the sixth when center fielder Garrett Mitchell leaped in front of the wall to catch a long drive from Gavin Lux.

Related Story: Kiké Hernandez’s 2-Run Double, Cavan Biggio’s RBI Single Lead ...

Brewers Rally Falls Short

Milwaukee cut Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2 in the sixth when William Contreras greeted Joe Kelly with a two-out, two-run homer to right. Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez then hit back-to-back singles to put the potential tying run on base before Kelly struck out Rhys Hoskins to end the rally.

The Dodgers added an insurance run in the seventh and held the Brewers scoreless the rest of the way. Daniel Hudson retired the side in order in the ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities.

Kershaw (1-2) hadn’t pitched more than 4 2/3 innings in any of his three previous starts this year after undergoing offseason surgery to repair ligaments in his shoulder capsule. The three-time Cy Young Award winner owns a 1.54 ERA in 10 career regular-season starts at American Family Field.

TRAINER’S ROOM

The Brewers activated LHP Bryan Hudson (oblique) from the injured list and optioned LHP DL Hall to Triple-A Nashville. They also placed OF Blake Perkins (right calf strain) on the 10-day injured list and recalled 1B Tyler Black from Nashville.