Padres top Dodgers as teams keep cool
LOS ANGELES — Padres pitcher Eric Stults hit a three-run homer and stuck around long enough to benefit from a two-run seventh inning as San Diego beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 on Monday night in the first game between the National League West rivals since their wild brawl last week.
There was no visible rancor between the teams on Jackie Robinson Day after Major League Baseball executive vice president Joe Torre called both managers to remind them of the context of the game, the 66th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier with the Dodgers.
Pinch hitter Jesus Guzman singled while batting for Stults during the decisive rally and scored on a double-play grounder by Yonder Alonso. That came after Paco Rodriguez relieved Ronald Belisario (0-2) with the bases loaded and walked pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia to force in the tiebreaking run after getting ahead 0-2 in the count.
“We’ll make sure we keep our composure,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said before the game. “We’re here to win a game. We don’t need to lose players.”
Padres manager Bud Black said: “For us, it’s over.”
San Diego slugger Carlos Quentin dropped his appeal Sunday and began serving an eight-game suspension for charging Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke after getting hit by a pitch Thursday at Petco Park. Greinke broke his left collarbone in the fight that followed and is expected to miss eight weeks. Quentin will sit out the three-game series — and five more games.
“If he was playing, obviously things are escalated a little bit,” Mattingly said.
Dodgers infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. was suspended one game for his role in the brawl.
Robinson’s widow, Rachel, along with the couple’s daughter, Sharon, and son, David, were introduced before the game, which drew a sellout crowd of 52,136.
Harrison Ford bounced a ceremonial first pitch to Mattingly. Ford plays Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey, who signed Robinson, in “42,” the new movie about the baseball pioneer.
Stults (2-1) allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings, struck out four and walked one. The former Dodgers left-hander hit his first major league homer with two outs in the second off Chad Billingsley.
Huston Street pitched the ninth to earn his second save in just the Padres’ third win in 13 games, including two against the Dodgers.
Billingsley gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings, struck out three and walked two.
The Dodgers scored runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to tie the game 3-all. Adrian Gonzalez had a ground-rule double, and Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis hit RBI singles.
The Dodgers had the potential tying runs on second and third with one out in the eighth. Pinch hitter Skip Schumaker hit a comebacker to the mound, and Luke Gregerson got the out at first before Alonso made a perfect throw to catcher John Baker for the tag on Ellis, completing the inning-ending double play.