The Los Angeles Dodgers moved into sole possession of first place in the National League West for the first time all season on Thursday night, hanging on to defeat the San Diego Padres, 3-2.
The Dodgers won two of the first three games of the series, so Thursday’s game propelled them to a series victory, although it was not easy. Padres veteran starter Tyson Ross came into the game 0-7 in his career against the Dodgers.
But he looked like a completely different pitcher as he tossed five no-hit innings to begin the game before Joc Pederson broke it up with a one-out double in the sixth.
Los Angeles wasn’t able to break through in that sixth inning though, although Ross Stripling was able to keep San Diego off the scoreboard as well, so the game was scoreless through six innings at Petco Park.
That changed in the seventh inning when Chris Taylor launched a one-out double to left to give the Dodgers a man in scoring position. Andrew Toles was able to cash him in with a single to left-center field, putting the Dodgers out in front.
They went on to score two more runs that inning on RBI singles by Matt Kemp and Pederson, extending the lead to 3-0.
San Diego got two back in the bottom half of the inning, so it was up to Dylan Floro and Kenley Jansen to close out the game with just a one-run lead.
They were able to do exactly that as Floro continued to impress his new club, and Jansen earned his league-leading 26th save of the season to propel Los Angeles into first place.
As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in preparation for the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy & Cookies Policy. The updated Privacy & Cookies Policy will take effect on May 22, 2018. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy. We recommend that you read our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy in full.
