Dodgers 9, Padres 4
Juan Uribe and Carl Crawford each homered and Clayton Kershaw became baseball’s first 18-game winner as Los Angeles rolled past visiting San Diego in the opener of a three-game series.
Kershaw (18-3) allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits over eight innings for the Dodgers, who won their fourth straight and moved 3 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the National League West. Hanley Ramirez went 4-for-5 with two RBIs while Crawford went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Yasmani Grandal blasted a ninth-inning home run for San Diego, which was held to four hits and saw its losing streak reach a season-high six games. Odrisamer Despaigne (3-6) yielded seven runs (six earned) on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings and dropped his fifth consecutive road decision.
The Dodgers led 2-0 on Uribe’s solo homer in the second, added two runs in the fourth and forced Despaigne’s exit on Kemp’s RBI double with one out in the fifth. Frank Garces replaced Despaigne and allowed the Dodgers to pull ahead 8-1 on Crawford’s three-run blast over the right-field wall.
Kershaw, who has won four consecutive starts while posting a 0.84 ERA, struck out eight batters and improved to 10-1 against NL West opponents this season. The Dodgers' only misstep came in the sixth inning as they tied a major league record by committing three errors on a single play and allowed two runs to score.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kershaw improved to 3-0 against the Padres this season with a 1.08 ERA and 29 strikeouts in three starts covering 25 innings. … Dodgers LF Matt Kemp went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored while extending his hitting streak to 14 games. … San Diego has been outscored 36-12 during its six-game losing streak.