The Sports Xchange
Jul 2, 2017
SAN DIEGO -- Chris Taylor hit his third grand slam of the season -- and the Dodgers' second in as many games -- and Corey Seager and Justin Turner added back-to-back homers Saturday night while left-hander Rich Hill was pitching seven scoreless innings as Los Angeles continued its domination of the Padres in an 8-0 rout at Petco Park.
Hill (5-4) gave up four hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts and drove in the Dodgers' first run in the first two-hit game of his career as Los Angeles beat the Padres for the seventh time in eight games this season. The Dodgers have outscored the Padres 63-18.
Former Padre Logan Forsythe had four hits for the Dodgers for a second straight night and reached base nine straight times before Padres left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter struck him out in the eighth.
Seager had three hits, including his 13th homer, in just his second start since tweaking his hamstring on June 23. Hill and Taylor each had two of the Dodgers' 14 hits.
Left-hander Dillon Overton suffered the loss in his first start as a Padres. The Dodgers scored their first two runs off Overton on infield hits.
Taylor drew a walk to open the game, advanced to second on a Seager single and, after two outs, reached third when Overton hit catcher Austin Barnes, who Friday night drove in seven runs with a pair of homers, including a grand slam.
Forsythe then chopped a dribbler up the third-base line and reached first ahead of third baseman Chase d'Arnaud's throw with Taylor scoring.
Barnes led off the Dodgers' fourth with a walk, but ran through a stop sign and was thrown out at the plate -- on a perfect relay from left fielder Jose Pirela to shortstop Erick Aybar to catcher Austin Hedges -- trying to score from first on Forsythe's double down the line. Forsythe moved to third on an infield out and scored on Hill's first hit of the season, a grounder that Aybar couldn't cleanly field behind second.
Seager and Turner then opened the fifth with the sixth set of back-to-back homers by the Dodgers this season. Seager hit a 438-foot drive to right and Turner pulled a 356-foot drive to left.
Overton's first start as a Padre ended after Forsythe's two-out double in the fifth. Overton gave up four runs on nine hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.
Taylor hit his third grand slam of the season in the seventh to double the run count.
The lone bright spot for the Padres was center fielder Manuel Margot, who had two hits and drew a walk off Hill and stole two bases.
NOTES: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts missed Saturday night's game, serving a one-game suspension for his role in Friday night's dust-up with Padres manager Andy Green. Green and Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood, who triggered events by threatening Jose Pirela, were also fined. ... The Padres optioned RHP Jose Valdez to Triple-A El Paso to make room for Saturday night's starter LHP Dillon Overton on the 25-man roster. ... The Dodgers had a major league-leading 53 homers in June, which is also the highest total for any month in franchise history. The Dodgers were 21-7 in June, tying the franchise record for wins in the month and setting the record for the highest June winning percentage (.750) in franchise history. ... The Dodgers recalled RHP Josh Fields from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned INF Mike Freeman to Oklahoma City. ... The Padres announced RHP Trevor Cahill will come off the disabled list Tuesday and start against the Indians in Cleveland.