It must have been the hair of the dog that bit me.
Hunter Renfroe bit Kenta Maeda in the first and then Louis Coleman in the eighth as the San Diegp Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-1, on Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Renfroe hit a three-run home run off the Japanese right-hander with two outs in the bottom of the first frame as the Padres pitching staff silenced the Dodgers the remainder of the way.
"I've known Hunter for a long time," Dodgers manger Dave Roberts said. "He's got big power. We left some balls over the plate and when you do that to guys with power, they'll hit it out. He had a big night."
For an encore, Renfroe hit a grand slam—the first of his career—off right-handed relief pitcher Louis Coleman in the bottom of the eighth to crush any chance of a comeback for the boys in blue.
Maeda (16-10) allowed three runs on three hits with five strikeouts in four innings pitched as he left the game for a pinch-hitter in the top of the fifth.
"After the first inning he was good," Roberts said of Maeda. "He was missing with the breaking ball and fastball in the first inning. Outside of that inning he was good."
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Maeda was not injured, nor was performance an issue. Dave Roberts simply did not want to push his NLDS Game 3 starter past 60 pitches with the postseason on the horizon.
"I felt that it was better for me to face live hitters in a regular game situation rather than pitching in a simulated game after the season ended," Maeda said of pitching today and next Sunday in the season finale.
Maeda's one mistake—a slider to Renfroe—was the difference in the game as the only offense the Dodgers could muster was a solo home run by Chase Utley in the top of the third inning.
"In the beginning of the game I really didn't have my best stuff," Maeda said. "I threw him a slider that didn't really break and he took advantage of a mislocated pitch."
Paul Clemens (4-5) picked up the victory for the Padres, allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts in five innings.
Renfroe provided all the offense for San Diego, knocking in all seven runs, the most RBI for the rookie in his career, and one shy of the franchise record of eight (Ken Caminiti).
Two days after winning the NL West Division for the fourth consecutive year, Los Angeles left eight men on base and was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
"I thought the day off did us well, and that we came in ready to go," Roberts said when asked if his team was ready to play after celebrating on Sunday. "We got behind the eight-ball and weren't able to capitalize after that."
The Dodgers fell 2.5 games behind the Washington Nationals for home field advantage in the NLDS which starts on Friday, October 7.
Players of the Game:
Hunter Renfroe: 2-for-4, two home runs, grand slam and 7 RBI.
Chase Utley: 2-for-2 with a double, home run and two walks.
Three Takeaways:
1. Shuffle Up and Deal: The Los Angeles Dodgers rearranged their rotation for the final six games of the season with Kenta Maeda starting on Tuesday on normal rest and Jose De Len was pushed back to Wednesday. Surprisingly, Julio Urias will start on Thursday. Rich Hill will get one final tune up on Friday, Clayton Kershaw the same on Saturday and Maeda again next Sunday. Kershaw was named the NLDS Game One starter, followed by Rich Hill and Maeda.
Updated Dodger starting pitching, via Dave Roberts:
Tonight - Maeda
9/28 - De Leon
9/29 - Urias
9/30 - Hill
10/1 - Kershaw
10/2 - Maeda — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 27, 2016
2. Dayton Flyer: Relief pitcher Grant Dayton struck out two batters before he was lifted for the right-hander, Louis Coleman, in the bottom of the eighth inning on Tuesday. Dayton has 23 strikeouts in his last 14 innings and an ERA of 0.63 in his last 16 games.
Grant Dayton has 23 Ks in his last 14 1/3 innings. If Louis Coleman gets the third out here, Dayton ERA in his last 16 G goes down to 0.63. — Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 28, 2016
3. HK47: Howie Kendrick, the semi-automatic, super-utility player is the first ever Dodger to start 10+ games at four different positions (LF, 3B, 2B, 1B) in the same season.
Howie Kendrick is in at 1B, his 10th game of the season there. He is the first Dodger ever with 10+ games at 1B, 2B, 3B & LF in same year — Eric Stephen (@truebluela) September 28, 2016
Up Next:
Dodgers (90-67): Jose De Leon will look to deliver for the Dodgers on Wednesday in what is likely his final start of the season.
Padres (67-90): San Diego sends Luis Perdomo to the mound in the middle game at 7:10 PM PST.
