Grandal's 3 HRs lead LA past SD in slugfest
LOS ANGELES -- Yasmani Grandal won his own version of the Home Run Derby on Friday night, launching three of the Dodgers' five homers as they outslugged the Padres, 10-6, and snapped a three-game losing streak.
Grandal drove in six runs in his first three-homer game, and Justin Turner and Howie Kendrick hit solo shots to beat Andrew Cashner, who allowed eight runs in 2 2/3 innings and is 1-6 in his career against the Dodgers. Grandal, who has seven homers in his last 11 starts, also defeated the shift with a bunt single and finished his 5-for-5 night with a line-drive single in the eighth.
"As crazy as this night was, to look at Yas' night, it's one for the books," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "The work he's put in, the guy is watching video, working with the coaches, and to finally get rewarded with a historical night was great."
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He's only the third catcher in history with at least five hits in a three-homer game (Victor Martinez, 2004 and Walker Cooper, 1949) and the third Dodgers catcher with a three-homer game, joining Mike Piazza and Roy Campanella.
"It was surreal," said Grandal. "It makes me feel great, to be with two Hall of Famers, guys that did what they did, offensively and defensively. It still hasn't kicked in. When I get home and lay down, it will hit me a lot more."
Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir, despite a five-run lead, couldn't get the win because he was gone after laboring through three innings on 85 pitches. Melvin Upton Jr. slugged a two-run homer off Kazmir in the second inning, took Louis Coleman's first pitch of the fourth inning into the left-field bleachers and finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored.
"The first inning, for me, it was tough to get into any type of rhythm," said Kazmir, who has allowed 17 runs in 18 first innings this year. "I felt I was throwing the ball well, just wasn't getting quick outs, had to battle. It's tough in the first inning to throw 30 pitches, minimized the damage, but too many pitches."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Easy as 1-2-3: With two in, the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fifth, Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez took over for J.P. Howell and with one pitch got Wil Myers on an inning-ending 1-2-3 double-play, despite nearly throwing the ball past catcher Grandal, who made a quick backhanded snag before throwing to first.
"That was a huge double play, probably the play of the game," said Roberts. "Wil Myers, an All-Star, to get a comebacker, that was huge."
Cashing out: Cashner was coming off a solid start Sunday in his return from the DL, but things went south in a hurry for the right-hander on Friday. The Dodgers scored four runs in both the first and third innings off Cashner, whose eight earned runs and four homers allowed are both career highs.
"I didn't really command much of anything tonight," Cashner said. "Fastball was out of the zone, not even close. And when I did throw it [for a strike], it was down the middle."
Melvin making it happen: Upton's big night reached its peak with his second home run in the fourth inning. Upton hasn't had a 20-20 season since 2012 when he was still with the Rays, but he's at 16 homers and 20 steals with 75 games to go. Upton homered in Thursday's game as well, giving him his first back-to-back games with a long ball since 2012.
"He looked locked in," Kazmir said of Upton. More >
Utley, naturally: With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the first inning, Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley, as he fielded Alexei Ramirez's grounder, collided with baserunner Derek Norris. Norris was called out by umpire Rob Drake for runner's interference, with Wil Myers sent back to third base, Yangervis Solarte back to second base and Ramirez placed at first. Norris struck out in a third-inning at-bat and was removed from the game before the bottom of the fourth inning.
Norris is day to day with a right quad contusion and is more likely to return Sunday than Saturday, Padres manager Andy Green said. Green disagreed with the call but credited Utley for the veteran play.
"He's smart. He's a savvy baseball player," Green said. "There was only one way that run was not going to score right there. For him to create contact and get that interference call, he's heady in a sense. He's very smart. He created the contact, he got the call and it was disappointing on our side because we lose our catcher in the process. It's very frustrating to have one of your players hurt by someone creating a collision." More >
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
Kazmir caught Upton breaking for second base in the first inning, throwing to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who relayed it to Corey Seager at second. Second-base umpire Rob Drake called Upton out, but a challenge from the Padres and a replay review led to the call being overturned, giving Upton his 20th stolen base.
A similar situation went the other way in the fourth inning, as Myers was thrown out by Grandal. The Padres challenged again, but the call was allowed to stand and the Dodgers had their first out of the inning.
WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: Luis Perdomo will go for his third straight quality start and try to end his first half on a positive note as the Padres' series at Dodger Stadium continues on Saturday. The Rule 5 Draft pick has a 7.93 ERA but has made recent progress with his sinker.
Dodgers: Having passed his first test after Tommy John surgery with five scoreless innings on Sunday in his season debut, Brandon McCarthy starts Saturday's 4:15 p.m. PT game and will be watched carefully for any drop off. The last time he faced the Padres was April 25, 2015, when he blew out his elbow.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.
Jack Baer is a reporter for MLB.com based in Los Angeles. He covered the Padres on Thursday.
Ken Gurnick has covered the Dodgers since 1989, and for MLB.com since 2001. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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