|
 "It is big out there, so I didn't know if it was going out," Upton
said.
Upton's sixth homer of the season did get out beyond the
right-center fence as his two-run blast in the ninth lifted San
Diego past the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-6, on Friday night.
Wil Myers had singled in shallow center, just beyond second
baseman's Chase Utley's reach, before Upton's dramatic blow.
"I knew I hit it pretty good," said Upton, after the sixth walk-off
homer of his career. "It was cool. We fought hard and it was a
back-and-forth game. Our pitchers kept us in the game the whole
time. Luckily, we found a way to pull it out."
Kevin Quackenbush (2-2) worked the ninth and got the win.
Kenley Jansen (1-1), who was trying to record a four-out save,
absorbed the loss.
Jansen, who had never giving up a walk-off, exited the locker room
before the media was allowed in and unavailable for comment.
 "Tonight was a head-scratcher; I'll take that matchup any day,"
Dodgers manager David Roberts said. "Kenley has been lights out for
us and we can't expect him to be perfect. Melvin put a good swing on
that ball and took it out of the ball park.
"Going to Kenley was a no-brainer, we felt really good about. Then
in the ninth inning there was a bloop hit and a homer. Knowing him I
expect to have a lead tomorrow and use him again. I expect him to
rebound."
The Padres beat the Padres for the first time in seven games and for
only the third time in 13 games.
Justin Turner's two-run homer in the eighth off reliever Brandon
Maurer had given the Dodgers a 6-5 lead.
"That was a fun Major League Baseball game," Padres manager Andy
Green said. "It was fun for the fans, and certainly more fun for us
being on the winning end."
Christian Bethancourt's two-run, pinch-hit homer in the sixth pushed
the Padres ahead, 5-4. Bethancourt was in the original lineup,
scheduled to make his first career start in right field. But after
pre-game drills revealed Bethancourt was challenged to play the
position, he was replaced in favor of Jose Pirela.
Bethancourt was called as a pinch-hitter after Adam Rosales walked.
Bethancourt smacked the first pitch for a two-run blast off starter
Scott Kazmir that traveled 406 feet, landing in the left field
seats. The Padres missed a chance to add on in the seventh with
one out and runners on first and second. But Alexei Ramirez flied
out and pinch-hitter Travis Jankowski grounded out.
[to top of second column] |
Derek Norris' homer to start the fifth sliced the Padres' deficit to
4-3. That equaled the number of runs the Padres scored in the
previous three games.
Yasiel Puig put Los Angeles ahead 4-2 when stroking a fifth-inning,
two-run homer -- his fifth of the year. Trayce Thompson was aboard
via a single.
The Dodgers tied it at 2 in the fourth on Yasmani Grandal's double,
which followed Puig's inning-opening single. The Dodgers loaded the
bases with two outs to chase Friedrich, but reliever Carlos
Villanueva got groundouts on two well struck balls to escape further
damage.
Corey Seager pulled the Dodgers to within 2-1 with a run-scoring
double over Pirela's head in the third. Seager extended his
career-high hitting streak to 11 games by scoring Enrique Hernandez,
after he started the inning with a double. Friedrich rebounded to
strand Seager by getting Howie Kendrick and Thompson on ground outs.
The Padres struck in the second, with an unlikely rally which led to
a 2-0 lead.
Kazmir loaded the bases on a walk, hit batter, passed ball and
intentional walk with two outs. That brought Friedrich to the plate
and he looked overmatched early in the at-bat. Then Kazmir delivered
a 92 mph belt-high fastball and Friedrich slapped it into center
field for a two-run single -- the first two RBIs of his career.
"The hit to the pitcher is frustrating," Kazmir said. "And it's
almost embarrassing to have seven walks in that many innings. It is
unacceptable."
NOTES: Padres RF Matt Kemp, whose average has dropped to .238,
didn't start and flied out as a pinch-hitter ... Jose Pirela, who
has seen time with the Padres at second base, got his first start in
right field. ... RHP Andrew Cashner (hamstring) will come off the
disabled list next week and start Tuesday or Wednesday in San
Francisco. ... Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez (back) was out of the
starting lineup, but flied out as a pinch-hitter. Manager Dave
Roberts said he'll start Saturday. ... Roberts wasn't fazed about
having a cleanup hitter in 2B Howie Kendrick with no HRs. "He gives
us the best opportunity to drive in runs there," Roberts said.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
