Kenta Maeda is the star of his major league debut

SAN DIEGO -- As far as openers go, the Dodgers couldn't have scripted a better first series. They'd be hard pressed to come up with a better big league debut than the one crafted by Kenta Maeda in Wednesday night's 7-0 victory over the Padres to complete a three-game sweep in which the Padres didn't score a single run.

The Dodgers became the first time to open a season with three shutouts since the 1963 Cardinals. With 27 consecutive scoreless innings, the Dodgers set a new franchise record to open a season, surpassing the 23 straight innings accomplished by the 1974 team, also against the Padres.

There was no problem scoring for the Dodgers, who got off to another quick start. A triple by Chase Utley was followed by an RBI single from Justin Turner, an RBI double by Carl Crawford and a two-run single by Joc Pederson for a fast 4-0 advantage.

But the story on Wednesday was Maeda, who dazzled both on the mound and at the plate.

He kept the Padres off balance all night, even pitching out of a few jams, the first time a Dodgers starting pitcher had to work with a runner in scoring position so far this season. He allowed five hits, all singles, and struck out four in six scoreless innings.

San Diego had a legitimate gripe when Cory Spangenberg appeared to score on a ground ball, but was called out and somehow upheld upon review. That would have made the score 5-1 instead of 5-0 at the time.

Maeda in his second plate appearance, in the fourth inning, took Andrew Cashner deep into the left field seats for the Dodgers' first home run of the season. Maeda became the first Dodgers pitcher to homer in his major league debut since Dan Bankhead on Aug. 26, 1947.

With those six scoreless innings along with the home run, Maeda was the first Dodgers starter to do both since Zack Greinke on Sept. 13, 2014 in San Francisco.

Maeda was just the second major league starting pitcher to allow no runs and homer in his debut since 1913, joining Jason Jennings, who did so on Aug. 23, 2001 for Colorado.

Maeda wasn't alone for very long atop the Dodgers power department, as Yasiel Puig added a solo shot in the eighth inning after tripling in each of the first two games. Puig enjoyed a three-hit night and was 6-for-10 (.600) with two walks and a hit by pitch in the series.

The Dodgers tacked on a run in the ninth inning for good measure, making the series a 25-0 rout, and giving them nine consecutive wins over the Padres, their longest win streak over San Diego since a 16-game streak from Sept. 9, 1973 to Sept. 20, 1974.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Kenta Maeda (1), Yasiel Puig (1)

WP - Kenta Maeda (1-0): 6 IP, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts

LP - Andrew Cashner (0-1): 4 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts