Dodgers Vs. Padres Recap: Kershaw Gets MLB-Best 18th Win
Following a Matt Kemp leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth, Carl Crawford singled to right field and Despaigne was in trouble once again. Yasiel Puig collected his first RBI since Aug. 15 with a single to center and the Dodgers lead grew to 3-1.
Cameron Maybin was unable to field the ball cleanly, which allowed Crawford to take third base and Puig to reach second. With the infield drawn in, A.J. Ellis hit a grounder to Gyorko, who had thoughts of throwing home but instead went to first, which allowed Crawford to score.
Kershaw again retired the Padres in order in the fifth and the Dodger offense went back to work. Ramirez remained perfect on the night with his third single and it was followed by an Adrian Gonzalez walk.
Kemp hit an RBI double down the left field line to score Ramirez and the Dodgers led 5-1. Frank Garces was called on to face Crawford. The lefty-lefty matchup went in the Dodgers’ favor as Crawford hit a three-run home run.
The Padres had the first two batters reach in the sixth and both runners scored on a comedy of errors. After catching a shallow fly ball, Puig threw to first in an attempt to turn a double play. The ball got by Gonzalez, which allowed both runners to advance.
Ellis’ throw to second base sailed into center field and one run scored. Ramirez threw home, but the ball got by Ellis and a diving attempt from Kershaw. Rymer Liriano, who began the play on first base, then scored and the Dodgers lead was cut to 8-3. The Dodgers were charged for three errors on the play.
Ramirez hit an RBI single to right in the eighth and the Dodgers took a 9-3 lead to the ninth. After pitching eight innings, Kershaw turned the ball over to Pedro Baez, who gave up a solo home run before recording the final out in the Dodgers’ 9-4 win.
The win was the Dodgers’ fourth consecutive and extended their lead to 3.5 games over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West standings.
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