Padres, Dodgers play through earthquake

LOS ANGELES -- A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the California High Desert roughly 150 miles northeast of Dodger Stadium on Friday night, the latest in a series of temblors to strike the region.

The Padres and Dodgers were in the middle of the bottom of the fourth inning at the 57-year-old ballpark when the quake struck. The center-field cameras and foul poles were swaying noticeably and fans began yelling, many leaving their seats.

With two outs and nobody on, Padres starter Eric Lauer threw several pitches to Enrique Hernandez as the crowd reaction built to a roar.

“Not many people can say they threw a strike during an earthquake,” said Lauer.

Eventually the movement stopped, and Lauer induced Hernandez to fly out to left field to end the inning.

“I honestly didn’t feel anything,” said Hernandez. “I thought there was a fan on the field with all the yelling. Why is everybody yelling after a first-pitch strike? I never felt it. [The ballboy] gave balls to the umpire and said there was an earthquake. I said, 'Cool.'”

Said San Diego manager Andy Green: “When I saw the foul pole swaying I said to [bench coach] Rod [Barajas], I’d love for Kiké Hernandez to hit a ball right down the line where the foul pole sways in, and the ball swings just foul. But you never know how bad they’re going to be. I have no idea of the magnitude of what it actually was, but just here locally, when you’ve got that many people in a stadium, I’m glad everybody’s safe.”