Dodgers Score 5-4 Walk-Off to Stun Giants: 9th-Inning Home Run Seals Thriller

LOS ANGELES – Fans searching for the latest “Dodgers score” got the result they wanted Friday night: a tense 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres that pulled Los Angeles into a first-place tie atop the NL West at 69-53. Kershaw sets the tone • Veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw, making just his seventh start since returning from shoulder surgery, limited San Diego to one run across six efficient innings (76 pitches). • After Ramón Laureano’s solo homer pinged off the left-field foul pole in the second, Kershaw retired 12 of the next 14 hitters to steady a club that had dropped four straight. Early offense flips the script • Los Angeles answered in the third with three consecutive singles, including Alex Freeland’s first big-league hit. • Shohei Ohtani’s run-scoring fielder’s choice tied it, and Mookie Betts followed with a sacrifice fly to center that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 edge. • Teoscar Hernández offered insurance in the seventh, launching a 400-foot blast to straightaway center—his 19th of the season—to push the cushion to 3-1. Bullpen bends but doesn’t break Manager Dave Roberts pieced together the final nine outs with five relievers. Alex Vesia’s wild eighth loaded the bases, but Luis Arraez’s sac fly was all the Padres could muster. Jack Dreyer recorded the last out for his second save, freezing Ryan O’Hearn on a routine fly to center. Why the win matters 1. Division deadlock – The Padres had won five in a row and briefly owned sole possession of first; the Dodgers’ victory resets the race with 40 games to play. 2. Schedule swing – Los Angeles now faces left-handers Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, against whom they own a combined .308 team average this year. 3. Kershaw’s milestone march – Win No. 7 moves him within four of 225 for his career, and his 2.77 ERA since the All-Star break hints he can anchor a rotation that lost Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a forearm strain. Key box-score nuggets • Dodgers: Hernández 1-for-3, HR; Ohtani 0-for-3, RBI; Betts 1-for-2, SF, RBI. • Padres: Laureano 1-for-4, HR; Jackson Merrill 2-for-4, 2B. Quotable • Kershaw: “We’ve been scuffling, so getting the ‘W’ and squaring things in the standings was huge.” • Betts: “Everybody talks about the long ball, but a sac fly can win you a game, too.” Looking ahead Saturday’s matchup features former Cy Young winner Snell (2-1, 2.37) against Dylan Cease (5-10, 4.52). With two lefties on deck and the rivalry heating up, expect Roberts to mix right-handed bats like Andy Pages and Miguel Rojas into the order. SEO takeaway For fans typing “Dodgers score” or “Dodgers vs Padres result,” Los Angeles prevailed 3-2, fueled by Kershaw’s quality start, Betts’ situational hitting, and Hernández’s late homer. The win snaps a four-game skid and knots the division race as the Dodger Stadium homestand continues.