“His composure was the same, his tempo was the same”.
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“I only know how I feel right now, and I feel good”, Kershaw said. “I was impressed with his fastball, it’s got real life on it and he’s got a good changeup”.
De Leon (1-0) gave up four runs and six hits in six innings and didn’t issue a walk.
De Leon came back out for the sixth and quickly struck out the side. “Keep it simple and not try to do too much, I think that’s the key”.
The Dodgers countered with three runs in the bottom of the third, Turner drawing a one-out walk, Adrian Gonzalez beating the shift with a bunt single to third and Puig cracking a three-run homer to left off Friedrich, a shot that carried significance for both the mercurial right fielder and the Dodgers.
San Diego third baseman Yangervis Solarte hit a two-run homer and finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
Add in Trayce Thompson (13) and Chase Utley (12), and the Dodgers have seven players in double digits in home runs, tied for sixth-most in franchise history. Grandal made it 5-4 on an RBI single.
The Padres scored the tying and go-ahead runs in the fifth.
The Dodgers, trailing 8-2, rallied for three runs in the eighth inning and five in the ninth (four on Andrew Toles’ grand slam home run) to pull out a wild 10-8 triumph at Colorado. He didn’t walk a batter in his final three AAA starts and struck out at least 10 in all of those.
The Cardinals also recalled rookie catcher Carson Kelly from Triple-A Memphis, designated Memphis infielder Dean Anna for assignment to make room for Kelly on the team’s 40-man major league roster and transferred right-handed pitcher Seth Maness (right elbow) from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list. Only Pedro Astacio (1992) and Kaz Ishii (2002) have struck out more in their big-league debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kershaw, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014, is 11-2 with a 1.79 earned-run average this season.
They’ve gone 35-24 without him and turned an eight-game deficit into a three-game lead overSan Francisco.
Roberts demurred on that one, but Kershaw certainly appears ready to rejoin his team after being sidelined for over two months with a herniated disk in his back. “I think they’re still ironing some stuff out, but at this point it’s still kind of a pitch count deal, making sure that I can contribute and not just go out there”. LHP Brett Anderson was bothered by a blister in a rehab outing at Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday and will be reassessed.
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Old friend Zack Greinke takes the mound for Arizona in the opener of the three-game series on Monday night, having allowed 16 home runs in his 22 starts in 2016.
