SAN DIEGO -- Kenta Maeda did not go deep into the ballgame on Friday night, but still is showing signs of a rebound.
Maeda turned in a second straight solid outing for the Dodgers in an 8-2 win over San Diego. While Maeda did not get the win, he followed his best outing of the season by allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits over five-plus innings. Maeda also tied his season high with eight strikeouts and walked three batters.
"I just thought that he wasn't being as aggressive as I think he could've been," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He had a lot of punches. ... There was a stretch where he struck out [six] in a row."
Having struggled in his first four starts of the season, in which he gave up 17 runs over 19 innings and lost two of the four games, Maeda is trending in a positive direction.
Prior to Friday's game, Roberts said he was looking for more of what Maeda showed in his last start, and the right-hander delivered.
Maeda did not surrender a hit until the fourth inning, when Cory Spangenberg led off with a double. Prior to that at-bat, Maeda struck out six straight Padres. Spangenberg eventually scored as San Diego tied the game at 1-1, and Manuel Margot's sacrifice fly added a run in the fifth. Maeda walked William Myers to lead off the sixth before Roberts replaced him with Luis Avilan.
"For me, I was going to give [Maeda] the opportunity to go farther into the game," Roberts said. "But when I saw four straight balls to Myers, it was time to go get Avilan."
The Dodgers offense did little to support Maeda before he exited, as Cody Bellinger's solo home run represented the only run for LA against San Diego starter Jhoulys Chacin.