Padres Stun Dodgers 7-6 on Walk-Off Homer Allowed by Kenley Jansen

SAN DIEGO – Time for a rewrite.

Melvin Upton Jr. hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth off Dodgers' closer Kenley Jansen and the San Diego Padres stunned Los Angeles, 7-6, on Friday night at Petco Park.

Both teams exchanged go-ahead two-run home runs throughout the game as the National League West rivals continued to flip-flop lead changes.

Yasiel Puig, Christian Bethancourt, and Justin Turner all hit two-run blasts to put their teams in the lead throughout the game until Upton's blast put the punctuation mark on the Padres victory.

"It was an emotional roller coaster," Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir said of the back-and-forth game. "When J.T. [Turner] hit that home run I jumped up out of my seat. It's been a tough stretch for us, but we have to get it done. It's as simple as that."

The Dodgers were leading 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning before backup catcher, Christian Bethancourt, hit a pinch-hit, two-run, go-ahead home run off Scott Kazmir to put the Padres in front 5-4.

Kazmir struggled with his command, serving up a career-high seven walks while allowing five runs on three hits in 5 and 2/3 innings.

"I felt like I was fighting against myself the whole game," Kazmir said of the walks. "It's embarassing issuing seven walks in that many innings. It's unacceptable and something I need to clean up."

The 32-year-old Houston native's Achilles heel was the No. 9 spot in the San Diego order as that last spot in the lineup was responsible for four of the Padres five runs on Friday.

"It felt like there was a force field out there," Kazmir said of the No. 9 spot. "It's almost a nightmare to feel so good, but give up a hit up the middle by a pitcher. It's frustrating."

Kazmir surrendered a two-out, two-run, double with the bases loaded to opposing pitcher Christian Friedrich, in the second inning to give the Padres an early 2-0 lead.

In his first career start against the Dodgers, Friedrich did not factor in the decision, making his 2016 debut at Petco Park, allowing two runs on six hits with two strikeouts in just 3 and 1/3 innings of work.

The Dodgers added runs in the top of the third and fourth innings thanks to an RBI double by Corey Seager and Yasmani Grandal, respectively. For Seager, the double extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games.

Yasiel Puig put the Dodgers on top in the fifth inning when he crushed a 90 MPH fastball from Carlos Villanueva into the right field sets as the boys in blue momentarily lead 4-2. 

Derek Norris hit a solo shot into the bullpen in the bottom of the fifth before Bethancourt's blast put the finishing touches on Kazmir's outing.

Turner hit his first home run since May 7^th, and just his second of the season, when he found the nook in the right field corner for the game-winning blast. Literally, Turner's blast landed in the shortest part of the ballpark and the only place in the stadium where the hit could have landed for a home run.

"That was a huge lift for our club," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "It's great to come from behind and was a big turn of emotion for us. We had a lot of confidence that we were going to get those last six outs and we felt like we were on our way to a W."

So did the rest of the stadium as arguably one of the best closers in baseball entered the game with the tying run on second base in the bottom of the eighth.

Jansen promptly struck out Norris as the Dodgers appeared to be on the brink of the upset victory, but in the ninth, the closer allowed a bloop single to fall at the side of the retreating Chase Utley before Upton dealt him the death blow.

"Sometimes you get snake bit and you have to ride it out," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "It tests your character and how much your team can stay together. We will be better for it."

The two-run home run was Upton's second walk-off homer of the season, and was the first allowed by Jansen in his entire seven-year career. The blast stunned the Dodgers fans in attendance, and Jansen himself, who was visibly upset as he left the clubhouse after the game, refusing to speak to reporters.

"I expect to have a lead tomorrow and use him again," Roberts said putting confidence back in his closer. "When you get hit, you have to fight back. You have to be a man about it and turn the page."

The loss was the third consecutive blown lead for Los Angeles as the team falls below .500 to 21-22 on the season. Jansen records his first blown save of the season. 

Players of the Game:

Yasiel Puig: 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored.
Christian Bethancourt: Pinch-hit, go-ahead two-run home run.
Melvin Upton Jr.: Game-winning, walk-off, two-run home run.

Three Takeaways:

1. Petco Punch: The San Diego Padres finally snapped their 28-inning scoreless streak at home against the Dodgers when starting pitcher, Christian Friedrich, knocked in their first runs against LA at home in the bottom of the second inning.

How about Christian Friedrich?! Padres end their 28-inning scoreless streak against the Dodgers this season. — Padres Gameday (@SDGameday) May 21, 2016

2. Put it in Play: Scott Kazmir made 39 pitches in the second inning. He walked two batters and hit another before opposing pitcher Christian Friedrich put the only pitch of the inning in play: a two-run single.

Only 1 ball has been put in play this inning by the #Padres -- and that was pitcher Christian Friedrich's 2run bases-loaded single — Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 21, 2016

3. Corey on Base: Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Corey Seager has reached base safely in 58 of his 63 career starts. To put that in perspective, Seager is on base in 92 percent of the games he has started in.

Corey Seager has reached base in 58 of 63 career starts. — Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) May 21, 2016

Up Next:

Dodgers (21-22): Alex Wood gets the ball on Saturday as Los Angeles looks to snap a three-game losing streak.

Padres (18-25): César Vargas is still in search of his first win of the season when he takes the mound for San Diego on Saturday at 7:10PM.

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