Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning on Friday to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the visiting San Diego Padres on Friday.
Betts — whose two-out, ninth-inning homer off San Diego’s Josh Hader last Sunday led to an extra-inning Los Angeles win — snapped a 2-2 tie with a 426-foot drive to left-center on a 3-1 pitch from Tim Hill (1-1).
Freeman, who gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead earlier in the game with a two-run double, then made it 4-2 with a 370-foot drive to right.
Los Angeles’ Caleb Ferguson (3-0), who came off the paternity list earlier Friday, struck out Trent Grisham with the go-ahead run on second to end the seventh and earned the win. Evan Phillips worked the final 1 2/3 innings to earn his seventh save.
The win was the Dodgers’ third straight, their fifth in the past six games and 11th over the past 13. The Padres took a third straight loss, and they are 1-5 starting with back-to-back losses to the Dodgers last weekend in San Diego.
Los Angeles starter Dustin May had a 2-0 lead and had worked 12 straight scoreless innings against the Padres this season entering the seventh inning.
However, after retiring Manny Machado and Juan Soto to open the frame, May gave up a double to Xander Bogaerts on a drive over the head of center fielder Trayce Thompson. Matt Carpenter drew a walk as Bogaerts stole third, and Carpenter was replaced at first by pinch runner Rougned Odor.
Ha-Seong Kim then lined a double into the left field corner. Bogaerts scored easily and Odor slid home just ahead of the tag by catcher Will Smith to tie the game — the call surviving a Los Angeles challenge.
The Dodgers took advantage of Blake Snell’s wildness to take a 2-0 lead in the third.
Thompson and Betts drew back-to-back walks to open the inning on nine pitches. Freeman then drove both home with a double to the wall in right-center.
Smith’s single to right put runners at the corners with no outs, but Snell avoided further damage by striking out J.D. Martinez before getting Chris Taylor to ground into an inning-ending double play.
May gave up two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Snell yielded two runs on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts in six innings.
–Field Level Media
