Dodgers offense corralled by Padres ‘pen

The Dodgers’ offense was quieted by six Padres pitchers in a bullpen game in a 2-1 loss on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

A walk by Joc Pederson and singles by Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger got the Dodgers a run against opener Luis Perdomo just three batters into the game. But the door was closed soon after.

No more runs were scored in the first inning, then loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth proved fruitless against Cal Quantrill, the long man for San Diego on this night with three empty frames.

After the Bellinger RBI single in the first inning, the Dodgers were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-2 with the bases loaded.

Los Angeles was 2-for-2 to start the game, and 2-for-28 the rest of the way.

The Dodgers and Padres have played three one-run games in four tries this season.

Aside from the poor run support, Dustin May had an otherwise fine night on the mound spoiled by a pair of rarities.

May wasn’t racking up the strikeouts like last Tuesday in San Diego, but he was efficient, and held a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning. That’s when the first surprise struck, with light-hitting catcher Austin Hedges took him over the center field wall to tie the game.

Hedges, a .199/.254/.355 career hitter entering Monday, is 3-for-7 against the Dodgers this season, and 0-for-17 against everybody else.

In the first 57 major league innings May appeared in, he never walked more than one in the same frame. That changed in the sixth inning Monday, when Trent Grisham and Tommy Pham each walked, with the go-ahead run cashed in by an opposite-field single by Eric Hosmer.

For a while it looked like May might reach the seventh inning for the first time in the majors, but that longish sixth inning (21 pitches) ended his night.

K-jà vu

Last week, May struck out Manny Machado in the first inning with a ridiculously-moving fastball, a clip that went viral very quickly. Asked about that pitch before Monday’s start, manager Dave Roberts said, “It’s pretty impressive, what Dustin can make a baseball do. It’s going to be fun and exciting to watch Dustin mature as a big league ball player. And I expect many more throws like that in his future.”

On cue, May struck out Machado in the first inning on Monday with another 99-mph super mover:

Monday particulars

Home run: Austin Hedges (1)

WP — Cal Quantrill (2-0): 3 IP, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts

LP — Dustin May (1-1): 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts

Sv — Drew Pomeranz (3): 3 up, 3 down

Up next

Ross Stripling starts Tuesday night (6:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), trying to become the first Dodgers pitcher to earn a win in his first four games of a season since Chad Billingsley in 2009. Garrett Richards starts for San Diego.