San Diego saw the error of their ways.
Two former Padres, Matt Kemp and Yasmani Grandal both homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated San Diego, 10-3, on Monday night at Petco Park.
Ironically, Kemp and Grandal were traded for eachother back in 2014 and both former Friars received mostly boos from the crowd.
"It's definitely weird," admitted Kemp of he and Grandal both now on the same team and playing their former team in the Padres. "It's good to be on the same team and be doing what we're doing. Hopefully, we keep the hits coming."
Nonetheless, they each silenced the San Diego faithful with home runs in the third and ninth innings, respectively.
"For sure, when you come to a place you've played you want to do good," said Kemp going against the Padres. "I had some fans screaming at me tonight so I got to shut them up a little bit."
Kemp got the party started with a three-run blast in the top of the third inning that punctuated a five-run rally for the Dodgers.
1️⃣ swing, 3️⃣ runs.@TheRealMattKemp | #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/VJ0WDqydYD— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 17, 2018
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"I was just trying to get something over the plate and drive it," said Kemp of his home run. "I got a good pitch to hit and got some good wood on it and it went out."
Kemp finished 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI before leaving the game in the fifth inning because of a defensive substitution.
Kemp also helped put the Dodgers on the board in the second inning after he hit a ball to the gap in left-center that advanced Cody Bellinger to third. Kemp was thrown out at second on the play, but two pitches later Grandal brought Bellinger home with an RBI double.
Padres rookie Christian Villanueva continued his red-hot start to the season as he hit a two-run home run off Hyun-Jin Ryu in the bottom of the second inning.
�� Sexto jonrón del mexicano Christian Villanueva de #Padres ,esta vez castigó a #Dodgers ,ya es tercero en jonrones de la Liga Nacional. pic.twitter.com/omE2TMxxm4— Bambino Sedano (@bambino_sedano) April 17, 2018
Villanueva became the fifth Padre in franchise history to homer in three consecutive games and now has 10 total home runs in his first 26 career games.
Villanueva currently leads all Major League rookies with six home runs and 12 extra-base hits.
Other than Villanueva, Ryu was excellent for the second straight start, allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts in six strong innings.
"It's all about command. The only pitch I threw right down the middle led to a homer," said Ryu of his night. "Everything else I was able to command pretty well and led to nine strikeouts."
Ryu improved to 5-1 with a 2.63 ERA to go along with 50 strikeouts in eight career starts against San Diego.
Six of the 10 runs for the Dodgers came off of San Diego starter Robbie Erlin. The 27-year-old left-hander was making his first start of the season and allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts in three short innings.
Grand-al Slam
Grandal hit a grand slam against his former team in the top of the ninth inning for his third long ball of the season.
The grand slam was the first for the Dodgers this season, and Grandal's third home run of the season.
The Dodgers' catcher has been by far the team's best hitter through the first 15 games, batting .372 with three home runs and 10 RBI.
Comedy of Errors
Christian Vilanueva and Hunter Renfroe made back-to-back errors to start the third innings as the Dodgers hung a high-five on the Padres in the frame. One inning later, left fielder José Pírela dropped a routine fly ball to give the Padres three errors on the evening.
Villanueva and Renfroe on back-to-back plays... pic.twitter.com/DcaNCXExnw— ZeroChancePod (@ZeroChancePod) April 17, 2018
Five. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/MmWULiFXSb— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 17, 2018
Up Next:
LHP Alex Wood will look to earn his first win of the season against RHP Bryan Mitchell for the Padres. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM PST.
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