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Austin Barnes was the hero of the night, as he helped the Dodgers pick up the series-opening win against the Padres. He homered in the seventh to tie the game, and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth to give the Dodgers the 4-3 victory.
The Padres got on the board first thanks to a familiar face. Facing his former team for the first time since signing with San Diego, Manny Machado took Clayton Kershaw deep for a two-run home run. Kershaw jumped ahead 0-2 in the count, but Machado quickly worked it to a full count. He hit a no-doubter to the upper-pavilion to give the Padres a 2-0 lead.
Aside from an Ian Kinsler home run, Kershaw really settled down the rest of the way. He went six innings, allowing three runs while striking out six. He really hit his stride in the last two innings, with five of his six recorded outs coming via the strikeout. For Kershaw, he has thrown at least six innings and racked up at least six strikeouts in all four of his starts this season.
Chris Taylor led off the fifth with a solo home run to get the Dodgers on the board.
LA looked poised to tack on multiple runs in the sixth, as they loaded the bases with no outs. Corey Seager brought one in with a sacrifice fly, cutting LA’s deficit to only one. Taylor, who homered the inning prior, struck out. He was followed by Alex Verdugo, who grounded out to end the inning.
An inning later, the Dodgers tied the game on a home run from Barnes to left field.
That'll work, Barnesy. That'll work. pic.twitter.com/PibfkMf0bW
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 4, 2019
Dylan Floro came on for relief in the seventh. Just like he’s done all season, he didn’t allow a run. He threw 1 2⁄3 scoreless innings before Scott Alexander came in for the final out. He’s the only reliever in all of baseball who has thrown at least 15 innings and has yet to allow a run this year.
Barnes led off the ninth with a double, standing at second as the go-ahead run. After Joc Pederson struck out, Muncy stepped up to the plate. In his previous at bat, Muncy was nearly tossed for arguing with the home plate umpire. It’s a good thing the umpire didn’t ring him up, because a line drive to first deflected off of Eric Hosmer’s glove, and Barnes came in to score.
Kenley Jansen came in to pitch the ninth. After Hosmer reached first to lead off the inning, Jansen was able to strike out the side, giving the Dodgers the one-run victory.
Friday particulars
WP: Scott Alexander (2-1) 1⁄3 IP
LP: Kirby Yates (0-1) 1 IP, 1 ER, 3 SO
SV: Kenley Jansen (11) 1 IP, 2 SO
Home runs: Chris Taylor (2), Austin Barnes (4), Manny Machado (6), Ian Kinsler (4)
Up next
The Dodgers will look for the series win on Saturday. They’ll send Rich Hill to the mound as he’s looking to pick up his first win of 2019. First pitch is at 5:40 pm PT on SportsNet LA.