Left-hander Parker Messick threw six scoreless innings on Monday and the visiting Cleveland Guardians finished off a 4-2 victory to hand the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers their first loss of the season.
Steven Kwan had an RBI double and a run and Daniel Schneemann added a two-run double as the Guardians won the opener of a three-game series after splitting four games at Seattle to begin the season.
Messick (1-0) gave up five hits with no walks and five strikeouts in his season debut as he kept the Dodgers’ left-handed-heavy lineup in check.
Los Angeles right-hander Roki Sasaki (0-1) rebounded from a rough spring in his regular-season debut, allowing one run on four hits over four-plus innings with two walks and four strikeouts. It was Sasaki made his first start since last May as he missed time with a right shoulder injury before returning in September and October as a reliever.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman drove in ninth-inning runs for Los Angeles. Shohei Ohtani had his first hit since Opening Day, with a 1-for-4 effort that leaves him 2-for-12 to open the season.
The Guardians took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Austin Hedges led off with a double and scored on Kwan’s one-out double.
Cleveland added three runs in the seventh against Los Angeles left-hander Justin Wrobleski. Hedges, Angel Martinez and Kwan singled to load the bases, and Rhys Hoskins rallied from an 0-2 count to work a two-out walk for a 2-0 lead.
Schneemann followed with a two-run double to left-center to make it 4-0.
After rallying from 2-0 deficits to win each of their first three games, the Dodgers were unable to come back against Guardians relievers Shawn Armstrong, Erik Sabrowski and Cade Smith.
Los Angeles ended the shutout bid against Smith in the ninth on an infield single from Kyle Tucker, a two-base wild pitch and an RBI double from Betts, who later scored on Freeman’s groundout.
The Dodgers’ left-handed bats of Ohtani, Tucker, Freeman and Max Muncy finished a combined 3-for-15.
