Wheeler, Hoskins lead Phillies past Kershaw, Dodgers 2-0

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Zack Wheeler outpitched Clayton Kershaw, and Rhys Hoskins homered early to end an 0-for-33 slump as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 on Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

Hoskins connected in the first inning, J.T. Realmuto added an RBI double in the third and the Phillies rebounded from consecutive defeats to the Dodgers that followed a four-game winning streak.

Los Angeles was shut out for the first time since Sept. 14, 2019.

Wheeler (5-3) gave up five hits with four walks and six strikeouts in six innings. He has thrown 14 scoreless innings over his last two outings, after holding Atlanta without a run for eight innings last Thursday.

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"I didn't have my best stuff tonight, obviously; I had four walks," Wheeler said. "But when you don't have your best stuff, you have to really bear down."

Kershaw (8-5) allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings, with one walk and nine strikeouts.

"The at-bat quality for those guys was really good, so you have to give them a lot of credit," Kershaw said. "They made me grind. They got my pitch count up, they fouled off a lot of pitches. Overall, I thought I had decent stuff."

Philadelphia played without second baseman Jean Segura (groin) and outfielder Bryce Harper (back), who were both injured in Tuesday night’s 5-3 loss.

The Dodgers, who are missing three All-Stars in Corey Seager (hand), Max Muncy (oblique) and Cody Bellinger (hamstring), lost for just the second time in nine games.

Left-hander Jose Alvarado followed Wheeler with four strikeouts over two innings. Hector Neris pitched the ninth for his 10th save.

Hoskins’ 13th home run of the season came on a full-count slider from Kershaw. It was his first hit since a first-inning single against Washington on June 5.

"That's a big hit hit for us and Rhys has had a lot of those in these two-run (close) games that we play," Philadelphia manager Joe Girardi said. "Rhys has had a lot of big homers in those games, so I'm really happy for him."

The Phillies made it 2-0 in the third when Realmuto ripped a double into right-center that scored Odubel Herrera from first base.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs in the first before Zach McKinstry struck out. They had two aboard in the third and two on with one out in the fifth before Matt Beaty struck out and AJ Pollock grounded out.

"Wheeler, he's got top-notch ace stuff," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "It's 97-99 (mph) and just enough of a slider to keep you off of the fastball. ... He's a tough one. We had him early, the first two hitters get on base and we couldn't push a run across. Then he just kind of got comfortable and made pitches when he needed to."

TO THE BRIM

On the second day of full capacity, the Dodgers drew a crowd of 52,157 to push attendance to 104,235 over their last two games. The huge turnout has come after Los Angeles drew just under 16,000 fans over its first 33 home dates amid reduced capacity.

WELCOME BACK

After playing in just 11 games since 2018 following a gruesome knee injury, Steven Souza Jr. was back in the major leagues when the Dodgers purchased the veteran’s contract from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Souza will pick up some playing time with center fielder Cody Bellinger on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Souza missed all of 2019 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, played a handful of games for the Chicago Cubs last season and was released by the Houston Astros in spring training.

Thinking of retiring, Souza signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the spring and hit .279 with six home runs in 22 games at Triple-A before getting called up. He was in right field and batted seventh Wednesday, going 1 for 3 and getting hit by a pitch.

"You know, my wife believed in me and all my family and friends believed it, but when you struggle through an injury for a couple years, and you’re just not doing what you’re used to doing, eventually you start thinking, well, maybe I just can’t do it anymore," Souza said. "This organization put the belief back in my heart."

To make room on the roster, the Dodgers designated right-hander Nate Jones for assignment. Jones had an 8.31 ERA in eight relief appearances.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Phillies: Segura was placed on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 left groin strain that occurred in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game. He is expected to miss at least three weeks. … Harper is day-to-day with a lower back strain and is considered probable to return Friday in the opener of a three-game series at San Francisco. Harper was injured on a strikeout Tuesday.

Dodgers: All three Dodgers stars on the IL will join the team on the upcoming road trip to Arizona and San Diego. Seager, out since May 15 with a broken right hand, is expected to need a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the active roster. Muncy (oblique) and Bellinger (hamstring) are projected to return immediately to the major league team when healthy.

UP NEXT

Phillies: After an off day Thursday, the Phillies open a three-game series at San Francisco on Friday with right-hander Vince Velasquez (2-1, 4.25 ERA) on the mound.

Dodgers: Begin a three-game series Friday at Arizona with right-hander Trevor Bauer (6-5, 2.64) set to start.