Dodgers score 9 in 6th for their biggest inning in San Diego in nearly 6 decades

SAN DIEGO -- After a quiet series opener at Petco Park, the Dodgers' bats were the driving force behind a statement showing against their rivals to the south.

A nine-run sixth inning that featured back-to-back homers from Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing and a three-run blast from Mookie Betts secured a 15-3 victory for the Dodgers on Saturday night, setting up a rubber game in Sunday's series finale.

The nine runs that scored in the sixth inning were the most by the Dodgers in a single inning in a game in San Diego since they scored 10 in the third inning on June 28, 1969. Los Angeles has had three nine-run innings through its first 83 games this season, tied for the second-most such innings in a season in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Brooklyn had four nine-run innings in 1890 and 1943.

"That sixth inning, we just did a lot of damage," said Tommy Edman, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. "We were kind of taking good at-bats throughout the game, and then just exploded in that inning. And it's just a good indication of how good our offense is, and we can just come through and explode at any time."

The outpouring of offense was more than enough run support for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who tossed six innings of two-run ball.

The Padres turned to left-hander Kyle Hart to open the game in front of their originally scheduled starter, right-hander Randy Vásquez, with the idea of preventing Vásquez from facing the top of the order three times. That arrangement more or less served its purpose through five innings.

Hart surrendered the game's first run after giving up a triple to Max Muncy followed by an RBI double to Edman in the second inning, but that was the only damage he allowed in one turn through the order. Vásquez pitched three scoreless innings to begin his outing, but he managed to record only one out in the sixth before the Dodgers knocked him from the game.

Freddie Freeman led off the frame with a double to the gap in right-center. He came home two batters later, when Padres second baseman Will Wagner failed to handle a grounder off the bat of Muncy. The inning seemed to snowball on San Diego after the fielding error.

Edman followed with a triple, scoring Muncy. Tucker worked a nine-pitch at-bat that ended in a two-run shot to right field. Rushing went back to back with a solo blast.

"I mean, there were some pitches I swung at earlier in the at-bat that I thought should’ve gotten the job done earlier, just didn’t put a great swing on it," said Tucker, who had three hits overall. "I ended up getting a cutter out over the plate that I was able to do some damage on."

Said manager Dave Roberts: "That at-bat that he had was a pivotal at-bat. Seeing a lot of pitches and ending that at-bat with the cutter, homer. That was big."

An Alex Freeland walk and a Shohei Ohtani single knocked Vásquez from the game. Righty reliever Ron Marinaccio issued a free pass to Andy Pages to load the bases, bringing up Freeman for the second time that inning. Freeman grounded out, scoring another run, before Betts launched a three-run homer to cap the big inning.

It was Betts' third straight game with a homer, an encouraging sign as the shortstop has begun to heat up at the plate.

"I just think that there's more intent with him in the batter's box and a lot less indecisiveness," Roberts said. "For me, if he can kind of have that proactive approach and aggressive approach, then everything else is going to take care of itself."

Los Angeles again feasted on San Diego pitching in a four-run eighth inning, with Muncy, Edman and Tucker all driving in runs. Three Dodgers finished the night with multiple RBIs: Betts (three), Edman (three) and Tucker (four).

Through the first five games of the Dodgers' three-city road trip through Minneapolis, San Diego and West Sacramento, the offense has shown some boom-or-bust tendencies. Roberts joked that he would rather see the production distributed more evenly between the games -- but as long as his club is finding ways to win blowouts and close games alike, the skipper is satisfied.

"You'd like it to be spread out more," Roberts said, "but unfortunately, that's not our choice."