Padres pounce on Dodgers' miscues to even series
LOS ANGELES -- Padres newcomers Wil Myers and Derek Norris fueled a four-run ninth inning Tuesday night in a 7-3 San Diego win at Dodger Stadium. A throwing error by former Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, the third error of the game for the Dodgers, helped open the floodgates.
San Diego scored in the first inning off Zack Greinke on a single by former Dodger Matt Kemp and a sinking liner by Justin Upton that left fielder Carl Crawford misplayed into an RBI triple. The Dodgers took the lead in the sixth off Tyson Ross on back-to-back doubles by Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez, then a single through Ross' legs by Howie Kendrick.
San Diego tied the game in the seventh inning when Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins committed his second fielding error of the night, missing pinch-hitter Yangervis Solarte's pop fly, allowing Yonder Alonso to score an unearned run from second base. Rollins' last two-error game was in 2010.
The Padres took the lead with two outs in the eighth inning when Alonso singled off J.P. Howell to score Norris from third. But Gonzalez tied the game in the bottom of the inning with his second home run in as many games. Norris doubled in two in the ninth after Grandal's errant throw to first base hit pinch-hitter Cory Spangenberg, who had bunted.
Video: SD@LAD: Norris drives in a pair with double to left
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Fast start again: As they did on Opening Day, the Padres struck first -- with Kemp in the middle of it all. On Tuesday, he had a two-out single and then scored from first base when Upton tripled to left field as Crawford couldn't corral it on a sliding attempt, with the ball scooting all the way to the wall. On Monday, Kemp had an RBI single in the first inning.
Beating themselves: The Dodgers were their own worst enemy in this game. Prior to Grandal's ninth-inning error, Rollins booted a grounder by Alexi Amarista, Rollins was thrown out trying to stretch a one-out double into a triple, Kendrick was thrown out trying to steal third base, Rollins missed the pop fly and Puig appeared to lose track of how many outs there were when he didn't come up throwing after catching Will Middlebrooks' flyout with one out and runners on first and second, with Norris hustling to third. More >
Nasty debut for Kimbrel -- in a good way: Craig Kimbrel made his first appearance for the Padres, albeit in a non-save situation, entering the game in the ninth inning with a four-run lead. It didn't bother him much, as he struck out the side on 16 pitches (10 were strikes), hitting 97 mph while mixing in a devastating 83-mph curveball. More >
Video: SD@LAD: Kimbrel strikes out the side in Padres debut
No help again: Not to take anything away from Greinke, but the fact that the Padres managed one run when he was in the game shouldn't have come as a surprise to Ross, a victim of poor run support last year. In fact, the Padres scored just two runs for him in four starts against the Dodgers in 2014. All told, Ross was 0-4 and had a 2.67 ERA in those starts.
Wasting quality starts: Greinke and Ross each went six innings, with Greinke allowing one run and Ross two. Greinke allowed only two hits, both in the first inning, and retired 12 consecutive batters at one point. More >
Video: SD@LAD: Greinke stifles Padres in season debut
QUOTABLE
"It was really a grinding, team win. You look at all the guys who contributed to this one, and going down the line, everyone has something to do with this one. This was a good one." -- manager Bud Black on the Padres' first victory of the season
"Looking back, I might have given Petey a chance to get out of that inning." -- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, on replacing Pedro Baez with Paco Rodriguez just before Clint Barmes' tying single in the seventh inning
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
In 2014, Ross threw a higher percentage of sliders (41 percent) than any other starting pitcher in the game (Madison Bumgarner threw sliders 32 percent of the time). This doesn't worry Black, who said that the way Ross releases the ball and the way it comes off his fingers represents a natural movement, thus shouldn't take a great toll on his arm.
RAIN, RAIN … GO AWAY
What's that? You say it doesn't rain in Southern California? Try telling that to the grounds crew at Dodger Stadium, which was busy putting the tarp on and pulling it off the field. Rain caused a 30-minute delay to the start of the game, as hard showers fell about one hour before the scheduled first pitch. There hasn't been a rainout at Dodger Stadium since 2000.
Video: SD@LAD: Dodgers fans guess team's rainout history
WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: Right-hander Andrew Cashner, who has tossed some of the most electric and memorable games in club history in his short time in San Diego, gets his first start of 2015 on Wednesday in the series finale at 7:10 p.m. PT. The Padres then head to Petco Park to play the Giants at 3:40 p.m. in their home opener on Thursday.
Dodgers: Brandon McCarthy makes his regular-season Dodgers debut against the Padres. McCarthy, who has a 5.34 career ERA in April, is 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA lifetime against San Diego. McCarthy has made only one career start at Dodger Stadium.