Kenley Jansen blew his seventh save of the season when he gifted a run to the San Diego Padres, who then returned the favor in the 10th inning and that held as the difference for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 6-4 win.
With the Padres working to piece the game together after using an opener, L.A. regularly put runners on base but continued to struggle with cashing in on their opportunities. It wasn’t until Kiké Hernandez’s RBI single in the eighth inning that they managed some insurance.
That placed added stress on their bullpen, which initially responded to the challenge. Joe Kelly was first among the Dodgers relievers used, and he worked around a two-out walk in the sixth inning. It marked an 11th consecutive scoreless appearance for the formerly embattled relief pitcher.
Yimi Garcia and Adam Kolarek combined to strand a runner in the seventh, but Pedro Baez allowed a solo home run to Eric Hosmer with two outs in the eighth inning. That left Kenley Jansen with a smaller margin for error as he looked to convert his 28th save of the season.
After a leadoff double, the tying run reach third base with one out, and Francisco Mejia then scored on a wild pitch. Jansen’s seven blown saves tie a career high set in 2012.
He was let off the hook by the Padres’ defense failing to convert the final out of the 10th inning. Kirby Yates contributed to that in some part by walking Kiké Hernandez with two outs.
Hernandez promptly stole second base and scored when Luis Urias made a terrific backhanded stop at shortstop but airmailed the throw to first base. An infield single followed, and A.J. Pollock’s RBI single drove in an insurance run and knocked Yates out of the game.
Casey Sadler worked around Manny Machado’s one-out base hit to convert his first career save.
Maeda overcame a shaky beginning and helped his own cause to give the Dodgers their first lead of the game. They fell into a deficit in the first inning when the Padres used a a pair of walks to score runs on a single by Eric Hosmer and Hunter Renfroe’s sacrifice fly.
Maeda blanked the Padres from there, getting through five innings with just the two runs allowed on two hits and three walks, while collecting three strikeouts.
After seeing the Padres take an early lead, the Dodgers immediately began their comeback. Cody Bellinger’s walk — one of three he had in the game — and Chris Taylor’s single put runners at the corners with none out in the second inning.
Corey Seager’s RBI groundout cut the Dodgers’ deficit in half, and with the bases loaded, Maeda lined a two-run single into right field to put them ahead 3-2.
L.A. endured an injury scare as Max Muncy was hit by a pitch in his right wrist. The 94 mph fastball prompted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and a trainer to check on Muncy, who was immediately removed in the fifth inning. The Dodgers later announced he sustained a right wrist contusion.
