LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Dodgers notched their 60th victory of the season with their ninth straight home win.
And compared to the last couple days, this one seemed rather dull.
“I apologize for the lack of drama, theatrics at the end,” manager Dave Roberts said with a smile.
Hyun-Jin Ryu tossed six scoreless innings and All-Star Cody Bellinger hit his 30th home run in a 5-1 defeat of the San Diego Padres on Thursday night.
The Dodgers had won their previous five home games in thrilling walk-offs, one short of the major league record set by the 2000 Kansas City Royals. Bellinger had the winning RBIs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This one was strictly by the book.
Ryu (10-2) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked a season-high three to become the first Dodgers starter to win a game since June 21, when Walker Buehler struck out 16 in a 4-2 victory over Colorado. The South Korean left-hander had one or no walks in his first 16 starts.
“My last game didn’t go so well so I tried to go full-throttle from the get-go,” Ryu said through a translator, referring to a 13-9 loss at Colorado last week that was his lone poor outing of the season.
Ryu lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.73 in his final appearance before starting for the National League in next week’s All-Star game in Cleveland. His ERA is the sixth-best in franchise history entering the break.
“He was in complete control,” Roberts said.
Ryu is even better at home, with a 7-0 mark and 0.85 ERA.
“He’s been the best pitcher in the National League. You can see why,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “He pitches on edges all day long. He mixes. He gets to 2-0 counts, he doesn’t give in.”
Bellinger homered leading off the sixth, sending a 2-2 pitch into right field to join Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire and Willie Mays as players 23 or younger with 30 homers before the All-Star break. Bellinger is the only Dodger to have done so.
“It doesn’t matter who’s throwing to him,” Roberts said, “he’s in such a good place.”
Chris Taylor’s sacrifice fly later in the inning extended the Dodgers’ lead to 5-0.
The Padres dropped their fifth in a row, with JT Chargois striking out their final five batters to end the game.
“We put some grinds to the at-bats, we created some first-and-third scenarios, just couldn’t deliver that big swing,” Green said.
Dinelson Lamet (0-1) limited the Dodgers to two hits - including Max Muncy’s 21st homer - through four innings of his season debut and first start since 2017.
But he found trouble in the fifth.
After Matt Beaty singled leading off, Lamet loaded the bases on back-to-back walks to Taylor and Russell Martin. Ryu struck out before Lamet hit Joc Pederson, scoring Beaty.
Alex Verdugo followed with a sacrifice fly to left field. Taylor tagged up and sprinted to the plate, swiping it with his left hand as he rolled over in beating the tag to make it 3-0.
Lamet missed all of last season after having Tommy John surgery. The right-hander gave up three runs and three hits in five innings, struck out seven and walked two.
“It was a really special moment,” Lamet said through a translator, “especially after everything that I went through during the post-op process. It was great to get back out there.”
The Padres’ lone run came on Eric Hosmer’s RBI single in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: OF Franchy Cordero won’t return before Sept. 1. He’s appeared in just nine games this season after sustaining an elbow injury in early April and a quadriceps injury during a rehab game in mid-June. … Placed RHP Robert Stock on 10-day IL with right bicep strain retroactive to Wednesday. … Recalled RHP Gerardo Reyes from Triple-A El Paso.
Dodgers: OF A.J. Pollock (right elbow inflammation) began a rehab assignment at Class A Rancho Cucamonga and will rejoin the team in Boston after the All-Star break.
WINNING ON THE FOURTH
The Dodgers have won six straight games on the Fourth of July, tied with Boston for the second-longest active winning streak on the holiday, trailing only Oakland with eight.
They also tied their longest Fourth of July streak set from 1960-64.
UP NEXT
Padres: LHP Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.22 ERA) is 3-0 with a career 1.46 ERA against the Dodgers. He won those three games last year, becoming the first Padres rookie to win three straight starts against any single divisional opponent since Jimmy Jones in 1987.
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 3.23) makes his last start before appearing in the All-Star Game. He is 19-6 with a 2.02 ERA in 36 career outings against the Padres, averaging 9.43 strikeouts per nine innings.
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