Untimely hitting, a lack of run support for Jake Peavy, and an all-around weak team performance. Sound like the Padres from last year?
It was.
In front of the largest crowd in PETCO Park history, the Dodgers easily finished off the Padres 4-1 in the opener. Jake Peavy was never great from the start, but managed to get through 7 innings, allowing 4 runs. It was the Padres who didn’t do their part offensively. This has become a familiar trend for the team, especially when Jake Peavy is on the hill.
“When I take the mound, I know there’s not going to be a margin for error,” Peavy said. “Today’s game was nothing new. I’m not knocking the hitters we’ve had before or the ones we have now. We’re just going to play low-scoring games.”
Trouble started brewing in the first for Peavy when the Dodgers loaded the bases for James Loney. (Not a bad number 6 hitter, I might add) Loney lined in 2 runs with a single to left field, and the Padres would never bring the game back to even. The only run of the game for the Padres came during the bottom of that inning, when Brian Giles drove in Jody Gerut with a ground ball. Peavy didn’t make it any easier for himself in the third, as he made a throwing error trying to pick off Manny Ramirez at first. This allowed Ramirez to get to second, and Andre Ethier quickly took advantage, driving in the Dodgers’ third run.
The Padres struggled offensively nearly the entire game. They managed only 5 hits, but were atrocious with runners in scoring position. Collectively, the Padres were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. In the sixth, when the Padres knocked Hiroki Kuroda out of the game, it was up to Kevin Kouzmanoff with the bases loaded. Kouzmanoff grounded weakly back to the mound to end the inning. The next inning, Chase Headley’s leadoff double proved to be meaningless; he never crossed the plate. In the 8th, Kouzmanoff had the tying runs at the plate and popped out. Matt Kemp tacked on another run for the Dodgers with a deep homer against Peavy.
Recap:
Dodgers 4, Padres 1
Who’s Hot: James Loney collected 3 hits and 2 RBI for the Dodgers
Who’s Not: Kevin Kouzmanoff went 0-for-4, leaving 5 men on base
