For a second consecutive year, the Los Angeles Dodgers began their regular-season schedule with a series against the San Diego Padres. However, the scene shifted to Petco Park this season, in a matchup between Clayton Kershaw and Tyson Ross.
Chase Utley batted leadoff for only the 12th time in his career, and opened the game with a double to left-center field that Jon Jay was unable to make a diving catch on. Utley quickly came around to score on Corey Seager’s RBI double over Melvin Upton Jr.’s head in left field.
Adrian Gonzalez tacked on another run with an RBI single to center before Ross could get out of the inning by striking out Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford. Kershaw began the bottom of the first with a swinging strikeout of Jay.
Derek Norris flied out to deep right and Matt Kemp grounded out to close a quick and quiet first inning for the Padres. Ross had a successful second inning, retiring Joc Pederson, A.J. Ellis and Kershaw in order.
Kershaw collected his second strikeout of the game and worked around a two-out walk in the bottom of the second to protect the Dodgers’ 2-0 lead. Utley reached base a second time in the game as he was hit by a pitch to start the third.
Justin Turner lined a double down the left field, but the Padres executed a perfect relay to nail Utley at home plate. While it cost the Dodgers a run at the time, Gonzalez helped ease the sting with an RBI single. Puig extended the inning with a walk, but Crawford grounded into a force out.
CONTINUE READING: Clayton Kershaw overpowers Padres, Dodgers offense explodes
Jay lined a two-out base hit to left field in the bottom of the third to end Kershaw’s early no-hit bid. Norris lined out on the next pitch to end the inning. Pederson fell victim to a shift in the fourth as he made solid contact, but grounded right to Padres second baseman Cory Spangenberg in shallow right field.
Ross then struck out Ellis, and got Kershaw on a little tapper up the first base line. San Diego wasn’t able to get any offense going in the bottom of the fourth as they were retired in order, with Kemp striking out swinging to open the inning, and Alexei Ramirez going down looking for the third out.
Kershaw kept the Padres off the bases in fifth, ending the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. Ross hit Puig with a pitch in the sixth, which was followed by Crawford reaching on an infield single.
Pederson pulled an RBI double inside first base, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0. With the Padres infield playing on the grass, Ellis’ chopper went into center field, plating two more runs.
Kershaw showed bunt, then pulled back to slap a single to center. Ryan Buchter came on in relief of Ross and was greeted by an Utley RBI single. Seager’s sacrifice fly gave the Dodgers an 8-0 lead before Buchter could end the inning.
The bottom of the sixth was another easy inning for Kershaw as he extended his streak of consecutive batters retired to 10. Luis Perdomo entered for the Padres in the seventh and promptly walked Gonzalez to start the inning.
Puig then hit a chopper up the middle to give the Dodgers two on with none out. Trayce Thompson capitalized by pulling an RBI double down the left field line. With two outs and the bases loaded, Utley added to his day with a two-run single.
Kershaw struck out two batters in the bottom of the seventh, giving him nine in the game and extending his streak of retired batters to 13. After Turner led off the eighth with a double, he scored on Gonzalez’s RBI base hit.
Gonzalez then came around to score on Puig’s RBI triple, who also scored as the throw to third base got away. Following a Thompson walk and Pederson’s second double of the game, Ellis’ RBI groundout made it 15-0 in favor of the Dodgers.
Louis Coleman and Yimi Garcia combined for scoreless work in the eighth and ninth innings. The win was the Dodgers’ sixth straight on Opening Day. The 15-0 victory was the largest shutout win in Opening Day history.