Turner homers twice as Dodgers down Padres
Turner homers twice as Dodgers down Padres
LOS ANGELES -- Justin Turner watched a lot of his long fly balls get caught on the warning track in recent games, so the Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman took advantage of the prime conditions on Sunday afternoon and hit two over the fence in a 6-4 win against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.
Turner hit a three-run homer in the five-run fourth inning and another solo shot in the eighth, the only other inning the Dodgers collected a hit.
"It makes a huge difference playing day games here," Turner said. "The ball really jumps."
Yasmani Grandal also went deep in the fourth inning as the Dodgers recorded their 36th come-from-behind win of the season in the rubber game of the series. Los Angeles is 16-0-3 in its last 19 series since June 9, and its 18-game lead in the NL West is the largest in franchise history.
Cory Spangenberg hit two home runs to lead San Diego.
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San Diego starter Luis Perdomo (6-7) retired the first nine Los Angeles hitters in order, but three batters into the fourth inning he had blown a 2-0 lead.
Chris Taylor was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Corey Seager followed with a line drive single up the middle. Perdomo got away with a hanging curve to bring the count to 1-2 to Turner, but then left a four-seam fastball up and Turner hit it over the fence in right field for a 3-2 lead.
The Dodgers weren't finished in the fourth. Cody Bellinger doubled down the right-field line and Yasmani Grandal hit another high fastball over the right-center field fence for a 5-2 lead.
"Perdomo was pretty good," Turner said. "This offense just grinds pitchers down, finds a way to scratch and claw."
The Padres took a 1-0 advantage when Spangenberg, the second batter of the game, lifted a home run over the fence in right-center, the ninth of his rookie season.
Jose Pirela then reached when Turner's throw from third sailed into the runner and Bellinger was unable to secure the ball, resulting in an error on Turner. Yangervis Solarte followed with a ground-ball single through the right side and Pirela beat a strong throw to third from right-fielder Yasiel Puig. Wil Myers then hit a sacrifice fly to center for a 2-0 lead.
Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda (11-4) came into the game 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA in three starts against the Padres this season, the only team that had defeated him multiple times. He also entered the game 1-3 with a 6.89 ERA in seven starts against the NL West this season.
After allowing the early runs, Maeda settled in and retired 14 in a row after striking out the side in the fifth, but Spangenberg tagged him for a second home run in the sixth, a two-run opposite-field shot that cut the deficit to 5-4.
Maeda exited with one out in the sixth, having allowed four runs (three earned), matching his season high with eight strikeouts and walking one.
Josh Fields, Pedro Baez, Luis Avilan and Kenley Jansen combined to shut San Diego out over the final four innings. Jansen pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 32nd save of the season in 33 opportunities.
The Padres announced before the game they extended the contract of manager Andy Green through 2021. Green, 40, is the second-youngest manager in the major leagues behind Kevin Cash of the Rays (39).
"We like him a lot," Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler told the San Diego Tribune on Saturday. "We think he's the right guy with us for a young team. We think he's a teacher -- not just baseball but teaching these guys about being a solid human being and a good citizen. ... We think he's a good baseball mind. We like his tenacity and his toughness, as well as the way he supports these guys the way they need to be supported."
NOTES: Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw, on the disabled list with a back ailment since July 24, is scheduled to throw two simulated innings at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. He threw approximately 50 pitches during a bullpen session on Sunday after throwing 30 on Friday. ... Dodgers C Kyle Farmer was optioned to Triple-A Rancho Cucamonga to make room for RHP Chris Hatcher, who was on the 10-day DL with a shoulder injury. ... Dodgers CF Joc Pederson went 0-for-3 and is 1-for-35 in his past 13 games.