Dodgers rally to thwart upstart Padres

SAN DIEGO -- The Dodgers haven’t won six straight National League West titles by accident. Nor have they done so because of lack of competition.

Over the course of various 162-game seasons, Los Angeles has outlasted championship-caliber clubs from San Francisco and playoff-worthy teams from Colorado and Arizona. In those six years, the Padres have been the division’s outsider.

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They now fancy themselves the new challenger, and Friday night marked the Padres’ first chance to do something about it against the reigning champs.

L.A.’s 4-3 victory, decided in the ninth inning at Petco Park, gave promise that the two Southern California clubs could have a spirited season series, but it also gave evidence that the Dodgers have plenty of fight left.

Here are four examples from Friday.

Unlikely homer

Regular center fielder AJ Pollock is recuperating from elbow surgery with no timetable for a return. So the center fielder of the day, Chris Taylor, stepped in and broke up Eric Lauer’s no-hit bid with a leadoff blast on a 1-2 fastball in the fifth inning. Taylor brought a .160 batting average and a single home run into that at-bat.

“I’ve felt a lot better for the last week and a half,” Taylor said. “I’ve been really close to getting over the hump, so it’s good to see results.”

Catcher Austin Barnes is seeing his first extended action as a regular and saw hit batting average fall to .197 after he was called out on strikes in the fifth. But next time up, he pounded a 1-2 slider from reliever Trey Wingenter in the seventh inning for a home run that tied the game 3-3. In the ninth inning, Barnes had a leadoff double and scored the tie-breaking run on Max Muncy’s single past diving first baseman Eric Hosmer.

“It’s just toughness. There was no panic,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We just kept putting great at-bats together. Austin came up huge.”

Kershaw hangs tough

If there were a place to expect the Clayton Kershaw of old, Petco Park would be it. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner boasted an opposing slash line of .168/.234/.252 and had allowed only five home runs in 14 previous appearances at Petco Park.

On this night, however, he looked vulnerable. He allowed a 437-foot monster home run by Manny Machado and a 372-foot poke by Ian Kinsler to spot the Padres a 3-0 lead through three innings. Machado’s two-run homer was the first Kershaw ever allowed with a runner on base at Petco. Kinsler provided another first -- the first time the Padres ever hit more than one homer off the ace left-hander at home.

But Kershaw didn’t crumble. He shook off the home runs -- and a ball off the bat of Hunter Renfroe that hit him in the back in the third inning -- to battle through six full innings. He kept the Padres off the board in his final three frames and finished with six strikeouts while throwing more curves and sliders (57 combined) than fastballs (35).

“It was one of those nights,” Kershaw said. “They scored early. I wasn’t making a lot of pitches. I was fortunate to keep it to three. The team did a great job fighting and found an opening. That’s what good teams do.”

Turner battles

It didn’t lead directly to a run, but Justin Turner won an epic battle to end Lauer’s evening in the top of the sixth. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Turner fouled off five two-strike pitches while working a walk to load the bases with nobody out. In all, Turner saw 11 pitches.

Lauer had allowed no hits and one walk through four innings, but he was gone only one inning and three batters later. The Dodgers pushed across only one run in the inning after reliever Brad Wieck came in -- Corey Seager had a sacrifice fly to bring the Dodgers within 3-2 -- but Lauer’s exit gave the Dodgers a crack at the Padres’ middle relievers, and Barnes took advantage in the seventh.

“That was a huge at-bat,” Barnes said of Turner’s battle. “It was big to get to the bullpen there.”

Bellinger shakes it off

Playing first base, Cody Bellinger had his right shoulder pop out when he dove for Hosmer’s ground single in the fourth inning. He remained on the ground in pain for several moments and was visited by the Dodgers’ training staff. But Bellinger stayed in.

“There’s a history with Cody that the right shoulder has popped out before,” Roberts said. “Fortunately, it popped right back in. The trainer assured me it’s not a big deal.”

After coming back to the dugout after the inning, Bellinger passed strength tests and took swings in the batting cage under the stands. He got the green light to keep playing and delivered a double off the right-field wall against Lauer in the sixth, just ahead of Turner’s long plate appearance.

“We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Roberts said, “but I expect him to be in there.”