One night after the San Diego Padres ended their four-game losing streak, the Los Angeles Dodgers looked to return the favor and end their three-game skid. Saturday’s game marked the first start for Adrian Gonzalez since he was removed Monday due to back tightness.
Cesar Vargas, making the ninth start of his career and second against the Dodgers this season, retired Chase Utley, Corey Seager and Justin Turner on six pitches in the first inning. Wood wasn’t quite as efficient, but he bookended a 1-2-3 bottom of the first with strikeouts.
Gonzalez led off the second inning with a base hit to left, but was erased at second base on a force out. With one away and Trayce Thompson standing on first, Joc Pederson beat the Padres’ shift with a bunt single up the third base line.
Vargas worked his way out of the inning on a strikeout of Yasiel Puig, and a Yasmani Grandal groundout. Melvin Upton Jr. reached on catcher’s interference to lead off the bottom of the second, then stole second base with one out.
A passed ball allowed Upton Jr. to advance to third base, but he was stranded as Wood retired Brett Wallace and Alexei Ramirez. Vargas worked around a one-out walk in the third to put another scoreless inning on the board. Wood struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning to give him six strikeouts to that point.
CONTINUE READING: Wood sets career high in strikeouts, game goes to extra innings
Wil Myers broke up Wood’s no-hitter with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, though it didn’t slow the southpaw’s momentum. Matt Kemp and Upton Jr. both struck out swinging, and Norris grounded into a force out to end the inning.
Puig made solid contact to open the fifth, but his deep fly ball was caught by Jon Jay at the warning track in center field. Vargas then struck out Grandal and Wood to end the inning. Wood struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning, the second time he’d done so on the night.
The Dodgers once again didn’t get any offense going in the sixth, with Vargas retiring the side in order. Jay worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, and went first to third base on a Myers single to center.
Kemp’s sacrifice fly to deep right broke the stalemate, giving the Padres a 1-0 lead. Wood ended the inning by collecting his 13th strikeout of the game, setting a new career high. After Gonzalez led off the seventh inning with a base hit, Thompson connected for a go-ahead, two-run home run.
The Dodgers’ runs scored against Vargas were the first this season over 11.1 innings pitched. A Norris leadoff double and Wallace base hit knocked Wood out of the game in the bottom of the seventh. Louis Coleman entered and got pinch-hitter Yangervis Solarte to pop out.
Adam Liberatore then took over and allowed the Padres to tie the game on Alexi Amarista’s sacrifice fly before getting out of the inning. Ryan Buchter replaced Vargas in the eighth and proceeded to strike out the side. Joe Blanton came on in the bottom half of the inning and set the Padres down in order.
Fernando Rodney issued a leadoff walk to Turner in the ninth, but followed it by getting Gonzalez to ground into a double play. Thompson was then called out for running inside the lane after hitting a tapper in front of the plate.
Blanton struck out the first two batters faced, walked Wallace, but retired the next batter to send the game into extra innings. Pederson battled back from a 0-2 count against Padres lefty reliever Brad Hand to work a leadoff walk in the 10th.
After a Puig strikeout, Grandal hit into a force out and pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick struck out. J.P. Howell retired the Padres in order in the bottom of the 10th. The Dodgers’ best look at a lead in the 11th came on a Turner fly ball to the center field wall to end the inning.
Chin-Hui Tsao gave up a leadoff single to Myers in the bottom of the 11th, and nearly saw the game come to an end on Upton Jr.’s fly ball to the fence in left field. Myers stole second base with Norris at the plate, who then drew a walk. As did Wallace, and Tsao then walked in the winning run on four pitches.