Betts homers in return from injury, Ohtani also goes deep as Kershaw and Dodgers beat Brewers 5-2

MILWAUKEE (AP) — 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.”

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.”

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 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.

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.

UP NEXT

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

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras (24) gestures after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras, right, hits a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, watches his two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, is congratulated by third base coach Dino Ebel after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio yells into his helmet after grounding out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, watches the ball after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches the ball after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts (50) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — The last time Khadija Ahidid saw her son, he came to breakfast in 2021 looking “homeless” with big hair so she offered to give him $20 so he could go get a shave or a haircut that day. Hours later, he shot and killed 10 people at a supermarket in the college town of Boulder.

She saw Ahmad Alissa for the first time since then during his murder trial on Monday, saying repeatedly that her son, who was diagnosed after the shooting with schizophrenia, was sick. When one of Alissa’s lawyers, Kathryn Herold, was introducing her to the jury, Herold asked how she knew Alissa. Ahidid responded “How can I know him? He is sick,” she said through an Arabic interpreter in her first public comments about her son and the shooting.

Alissa, who emigrated from Syria with his family as a child, began acting strangely in 2019, believing he was being followed by the FBI, talking to himself and isolating from the rest of the family, Ahidid said. His condition declined after he got Covid several months before the shooting, she said, adding he also became “fat” and stopped showering as much.

There was no record of Alissa being treated for mental illness before the shooting. After the shooting, his family later reported that he had been acting in strange ways, like breaking a car key fob and putting tape over a laptop camera because he thought the devices were being used to track him. Some relatives thought he could be possessed by an evil spirit, or djinn, according to the defense.

No one, including Alissa’s lawyers, disputes he was the shooter. Alissa has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting. The defense says he should be found not guilty because he was legally insane and not able to tell the difference between right and wrong at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors and forensic psychologists who evaluated him for the court say that, while mentally ill, Alissa knew what he was doing when he launched the attack. They point to the planning and research he did to prepare for it and his fear that he could end up in jail afterward to show that Alissa knew what he was doing was wrong.

Alissa mostly looked down as his mother testified and photographs of him as a happy toddler and a teenager at the beach were shown on screen. There was no obvious exchange between mother and son in court but Alissa dabbed his eyes with a tissue after she left.

The psychiatrist in charge of Alissa's treatment at the state mental hospital testified earlier in the day that Alissa refused to accept visitors during his over two year stay there.

When questioned by District Attorney Michael Dougherty, Ahidid said her son did not tell her what he was planning to do the day of the shooting.

She said she thought a large package containing a rifle that Alissa came home with shortly before the shooting may have been a piano.

“I swear to God we didn’t know what was inside that package,” she said.

Dougherty pointed out that she had told investigators soon after the shooting that she thought it could be a violin.

After being reminded of a previous statement to police, Ahidid acknowledged that she had heard a banging sound in the house and one of her other sons said that Alissa had a gun that had jammed. Alissa said he would return it, she testified.

She indicated that no one in the extended family that lived together in the home followed up to make sure, saying “everyone has their own job.”

“No one is free for anyone,” she said.

FILE - Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in March 2021, is led into a courtroom for a hearing, Sept. 7, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool, File)