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

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

Sport

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

2024-08-13 11:42 Last Updated At:11:51

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.

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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 (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)

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 (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' 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' 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, 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)

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)

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, 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' 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)

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)

“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 (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)

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 (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' 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' 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, 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)

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)

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, 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' 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)

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)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will begin deploying as many as 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days, U.S. officials said Wednesday, putting in motion plans President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration.

Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses was expected to sign the deployment orders on Wednesday, but it wasn't yet clear which troops or units will go, and the total could fluctuate. It remains to be seen if they will end up doing law enforcement, which would put American troops in a dramatically different role for the first time in decades.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made.

The active duty forces would join the roughly 2,500 U.S. National Guard and Reserve forces already there. There are currently no active duty troops working along the border.

The troops are expected to be used to support border patrol agents, with logistics, transportation and construction of barriers. They have done similar duties in the past, when both Trump and former President Joe Biden sent active duty troops to the border.

Troops are prohibited by law from doing law enforcement duties under the Posse Comitatus Act, but that may change. Trump has directed through executive order that the incoming secretary of defense and incoming homeland security chief report back within 90 days if they think an 1807 law called the Insurrection Act should be invoked. That would allow those troops to be used in civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil.

The last time the act was invoked was in 1992 during rioting in Los Angeles in protest of the acquittal of four police officers charged with beating Rodney King.

The widely expected deployment, coming in Trump’s first week in office, was an early step in his long-touted plan to expand the use of the military along the border. In one of his first orders on Monday, Trump directed the defense secretary to come up with a plan to “seal the borders” and repel “unlawful mass migration.”

On Tuesday, just as Trump fired the Coast Guard commandant, Adm. Linda Fagan, the service announced it was surging more cutter ships, aircraft and personnel to the “Gulf of America” — a nod to the president’s directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump said during his inaugural address on Monday that “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places in which they came.”

Military personnel have been sent to the border almost continuously since the 1990s to help address migration. drug trafficking and transnational crime.

In executive orders signed Monday, Trump suggested the military would help the Department of Homeland Security with “detention space, transportation (including aircraft), and other logistics services.”

In his first term, Trump ordered active duty troops to the border in response to a caravan of migrants slowly making its way through Mexico toward the United States in 2018. More than 7,000 active duty troops were sent to Texas, Arizona and California, including military police, an assault helicopter battalion, various communications, medical and headquarters units, combat engineers, planners and public affairs units.

At the time, the Pentagon was adamant that active duty troops would not do law enforcement. So they spent much of their time transporting border patrol agents to and along the border, helping them erect additional vehicle barriers and fencing along the border, assisting them with communications and providing some security for border agent camps.

The military also provided border patrol agents with medical care, pre-packaged meals and temporary housing.

It's also not yet clear if the Trump administration will order the military to use bases to house detained migrants.

Bases previously have been used for that purpose, and after the 2021 fall of Kabul to the Taliban, they were used to host thousands of Afghan evacuees. The facilities struggled to support the influx.

In 2018, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, to prepare to house as many as 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children, but the additional space ultimately wasn’t needed and Goodfellow was determined not to have the infrastructure necessary to support the surge.

In March 2021, the Biden administration greenlighted using property at Fort Bliss, Texas, for a detention facility to provide beds for up to 10,000 unaccompanied migrant children as border crossings increased from Mexico.

The facility, operated by DHS, was quickly overrun, with far too few case managers for the thousands of children that arrived, exposure to extreme weather and dust and unsanitary conditions, a 2022 inspector general report found.

Construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Members of the Mexican National Guard patrol as construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Members of the Mexican National Guard patrol as construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Volunteers talk in a tent along a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Volunteers talk in a tent along a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Dogs are near a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Dogs are near a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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