The Los Angeles Dodgers woke up from their offensive slumber on Tuesday night, stringing together 13 hits and cruising to a 9-0 win over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. The Dodgers had scored three runs or fewer in six consecutive games, which was a season-worst stretch.
Joc Pederson got the offense started with a solo home run in the third inning off Padres starter Cal Quantrill. Pederson now has 27 home runs on the season, which is a new career high with still over a month remaining.
Pederson finished the night 2-for-5, also hitting a rare single off a left-hander later in the game.
After his homer, the Dodgers tacked on two more runs in the fourth, and five in the fifth inning to complete the offensive outburst. Hitting with runners in scoring position has been a bit of an issue in recent weeks, but they went 6-for-11 in the shut out.
Matt Beaty and Kiké Hernandez each contributed RBI singles in the fourth, and seven straight batters reached base at one point in the fifth. Corey Seager and Will Smith drove in two runs apiece with singles, then Hernandez doubled down the right-field line to push across another.
A.J. Pollock capped off the night with a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning, his 10th of the season.
Walker Buehler has dominated the Padres throughout the course of his young career, and that was again the case on Tuesday. He tossed six shutout innings while allowing four hits to go along with 11 strikeouts and two walks to earn his 11th victory of the season.
The only other time Buehler faced the Padres this season was earlier this month, when he struck out 15 in a complete-game performance at Dodger Stadium.
Russell Martin closed out the game on the mound for the Dodgers, making his fourth pitching appearance of the season. He tossed a shutout inning to maintain his career 0.00 ERA. That was in danger, however, as Martin surrendered a leadoff double before finishing the game out.
