An Austin Barnes grand slam in the first inning provided early fireworks in the series opener between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, but it paled in comparison to what followed shortly after.
Jose Pirela’s led off the bottom of the first with a double and drew the ire of Alex Wood between batters. Wood pointed at Pirela and appeared to accuse the Padres utility man of stealing signs. Umpires gathered and issued warnings, and the inning came to an end without further incident.
However, home plate umpire Greg Gibson met with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Padres skipper Andy Green prior to the second inning beginning. The conversation concluded with Green sharing parting words for Roberts.
That infuriated Roberts, who charged after Green, which led to benches and bullpens clearing. Roberts continued to point at Green and shout, “you and me.”
The dust-up resulted in both managers being ejected. It was the first this season for Roberts and Green’s second.
Clayton Richard escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and stranded a pair of runners in the third. However, the Dodgers again got to him in the fourth, behind a Justin Turner two-run homer.
Richard exited with two on and one out in the fifth inning. Padres reliever Jose Valdez issued a pair of walks, the second of which brought a run in. Richard was ultimately charged with seven runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings.
Richard threw eight scoreless innings when he faced the Dodgers in April, but in two starts against them since, he’s been charged with 12 runs in only 9.1 innings.
Meanwhile, it was more of the same for Alex Wood. He became the first Dodgers pitcher since Rick Rhoden in 1976 to open a season 9-0.
Wood struck out the side in the second and third innings, and finished with eight strikeouts over six innings. He allowed one run on two hits, and issued three walks. The Padres scratched in the bottom of the fourth on a leadoff walk, ground-rule double and RBI groundout.
Barnes added a three-run home run to his night in the sixth inning, which extended the Dodgers’ lead to 10-1 and that held as the final score. Los Angeles entered play with a franchise best 50 home runs during a calendar month and closed June with 53 homers.
Barnes’ grand slam was the first of his career and the Dodgers’ 17th since the start of the 2017 season, which leads the Majors. The multi-home run game was also a first for Barnes.
The Padres pushed a run across on Grant Dayton in the bottom of the seventh and Sergio Romo surrendered a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning. Yet, the Dodgers still came away with a 10-4 victory.
Not to be lost in the scuffle and Barnes’ big night, Logan Forsythe went 4-for-4 with one walk. His four-hit performance was a season high, surpassing a pair of three-hit games.
