Dodgers 5, Padres 3
Clayton Kershaw tossed three shutout innings before leaving with the stomach flu and Matt Kemp blasted a two-run homer as the Dodgers won their season opener.
Kershaw’s early exit forced the Dodgers to use five relievers, including Josh Lindblom (1-0), who threw two perfect innings. Javy Guerra pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save.
After throwing 44 pitches in the first three innings, Padres starter Edinson Volquez (0-1) threw 34 in the fourth inning, when the Dodgers scored two runs on four walks and a wild pitch.
The Padres cut the lead to 3-1 on Jesus Guzman’s two-out RBI double in the sixth inning before Kemp hit a two-run blast off rookie Brad Brach in the top of the eighth.
Kemp, who led the National League in runs, home runs, and RBIs last season, went 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
The Padres answered in the bottom of the eighth when Cameron Maybin crushed a two-run homer off Kenley Jansen, but Guerra retired them in order in the ninth.
Acquired during the offseason from Cincinnati, Volquez threw 97 pitches over five innings, allowing three runs, three hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Dodgers were 13-5 against San Diego last season, including 6-3 at Petco Park…The Padres placed pitcher Tim Stauffer on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain… The Dodgers improved to 28-27 in the first game of the season since moving to Los Angeles in 1958…San Diego committed three errors after having just four games with three or more errors all of last season…Maybin’s homer was listed at 445 feet, the seventh longest in Petco Park history.