The Dodgers open a three-game series on Friday night against the Padres at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers finish off their homestand this weekend with a series against the Padres, their first action against the National League West in seven weeks. Here is a look at the schedule and starting pitching matchups for the three-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Friday, 7:10 p.m. (Prime Ticket)

Normally a 2.84 ERA in five starts with 28 strikeouts and just three walks would be worthy of endless praise, but Hyun-jin Ryu's August has been lost in the sea of great Dodger pitching. Ryu is well behind rotation mates Clayton Kershaw (1.01 ERA in August), Zack Greinke (1.23) and Ricky Nolasco (1.64) but having a fine month in his own right, even though he has lost his last two starts. Eric Stults is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA against his old team, but has hit more home runs (one) at Dodger Stadium in 2013 than Matt Kemp and A.J. Ellis combined.

Saturday, 6:10 p.m. (Prime Ticket)

Taking the long view, Chris Capuano has 45 strikeouts and just nine walks to go with his 4.35 ERA in 12 starts since returning from the disabled list on June 19, numbers perfectly acceptable for a fifth starter. But in his last four starts Capuano has a 6.98 ERA with 16 runs and 32 hits allowed in 19⅓ innings. Andrew Cashner and his big fastball, with an average of 94.4 mph that ranks sixth in MLB, has six quality starts in his last seven games, with a 3.00 ERA during that span. He has lasted seven innings in each of his last three starts and in four of his last five games.

Sunday, 1:10 p.m. (Prime Ticket)

Zack Greinke came within one out of a shutout in his last start, on Monday against the Cubs, but had the audacity to allow two runs. That pushed his total to 12 runs allowed over his last 10 starts, with a 1.49 ERA during that span. Tyson Ross rejoined the Padres' rotation on July 23 and allowed just five total runs in his next five starts, with 36 strikeouts and 10 walks in 34 innings. But Ross has allowed 11 runs in 12⅓ innings in his last two starts, both Padres losses. He has lasted at least six innings in each of his last seven starts.

The Dodgers look to make franchise history on Friday night as they open a three-game weekend series against the Padres at Dodger Stadium. With one more win the Dodgers can set a record for wins in a month since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

The Dodgers were 19-6 (.760) in July, the third-best monthly winning percentage by the team in Los Angeles. The team has followed that up with a 21-6 (.778) August so far, with two games remaining. It matches the highest win total in any month since the team moved to Los Angeles. This is the eighth 21-win month by an L.A. Dodgers team, and the first since August 2006, when the team was 21-7.

No Dodgers team has won more than 21 games in any month since the 1953 Brooklyn team went 25-6 in August. That followed a 23-8 July, giving them a 48-14 record over two months.

The 2013 Dodgers are 48-13 in their last 61 games, a stretch that began with a win in San Diego against the Padres on June 22.

But while the Dodgers have been hot as a team in August, they aren't the only ones on fire. Padres outfielder Will Venable began his month with a 15-game hitting streak and after a single 0-for-4 contest he started a new hitting streak, now at eight games. For the month Venable is hitting .390/.419/.750 with eight home runs, six doubles and three triples in 24 games.

Venable is even hitting lefties this season, to the tune of .295/.321/.590 in 81 plate appearances.

Left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu gets the start on the mound, looking to snap a two-start losing streak. Even with those two losses Ryu is 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA in August, with 28 strikeouts and just three walks. This is his first start against the Padres.

Former Dodgers pitcher Eric Stults has faced his old team three times this season, and is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. Stults won at Dodger Stadium on April 15, when he helped his own cause with a three-run home run.

The Padres were 38-36 after their win over the Dodgers at Petco Park on June 21, seven games ahead of the Dodgers, but San Diego has since gone 22-37.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB Gameday

I saw this tweet from Jim Steeg yesterday about the only two players in Red Sox history who have all the letters of their team name in their name.

Almost BOSTON @jtkantor Xander Bogaerts is 2nd player in team history w/ letters RED SOX in name Jennings Poindexter played 3 games in '36

— Jim Steeg (@jimsteeg) August 30, 2013

I instantly wanted to know the Padres players who had all six of those special letters in their name.  I reached out to TheThinGwynn for help navigating the Baseball-Reference search functionality.  I can never get it to work on my own.  He supplied me with a list of every Padres player and I searched them.

Of the 860 Padres players I came up with only five players who met the criteria.

I had MLB Network on as background noise a few weeks ago and perked up when I heard the word "Padres", much like a dog hearing a can opener puncturing an Alpo container. When I glanced over, I was pleased to see fellow West Virginian Jon Adkins on the screen. Unfortunately, they were showing him giving up a pair of homers in the infamous September 18, 2006 game when the Dodgers led off the bottom of the ninth with four consecutive homers to tie it up. Funny how that goes; a guy has a great season and only gives up three home runs all year but because of the freaky timing of two of them he gets depicted as a goat of sorts on national television seven years later. It's worth noting that the shots he surrendered were to perennial All-Star and former MVP Jeff Kent, who hit 376 more, and J.D. Drew, who was no slouch with the bat himself. Of course we wouldn't be talking about any of this if the next guy in from the 'pen hadn't given up two more home runs. That guy was future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, which just goes to show that this sort of thing can happen to anyone. Well, anyone good enough to make it to the majors, that is.

Aside from that appearance, Adkins was beyond solid coming out of the bullpen for Bruce Bochy that year. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy had the best year of his career, putting up an ERA under 4 in 54.1 innings over 55 games. He came over as a free agent from the White Sox and compiled a 2-1 record with eight holds. That one loss came on a walkoff single to Matt Holliday in Adkins's first appearance in navy and sand, but it was mostly smooth sailing from then on. His first win as a Padre came over the Giants in the first game of a doubleheader on July 1. He came in for Mike Thompson in the top of the seventh and retired two batters to end the threat.  His second win came three weeks later, also against the Giants; he pitched a scoreless tenth and eleventh innings. Interestingly, a young jackass by the name of Brian Wilson took the loss in both games, and of course Trevor got the save in each of them.

After the season, the Padres sent Adkins and Ben Johnson to the Mets for Royce Ring and Heath Bell, much to my disappointment. I'd been a fan of Adkins since back in his White Sox days -- I keep tabs on players from my home state, which is a lot easier for me to do than it is for you Californians -- and had been thrilled when my favorite team snagged him up. It worked out well for the Padres, though, so I can't complain too much. It did pave the way for Adkins to eventually pitch for the Reds, which is the dream for just about every boy growing up in or around Wayne, WV. At least it was the dream for both of my friends who are from Wayne, which is incidentally about 13 miles as the crow flies from where I'm presently typing this. One of them grew up to be a respected local businessman, and the other became a junkie, but one thing they have in common is that they both admire and are jealous of Jon Adkins. After all, he's the one who made it.

Also born on this day was some guy who played for the old PCL Padres back in the 1930s. His name was Theodore Samuel Williams. He went on to become a fighter pilot; I'm not sure if he played any baseball anywhere else or not.

LOS ANGELES -- After removing Yasiel Puig from Wednesday's game for disciplinary reasons, manager Don Mattingly has Puig back in the starting lineup on Friday night in the series opener against the Padres, just as he said after the series finale against Chicago.

Mattingly removed Puig on Wednesday after four innings and put Skip Schumaker in right field. But after the game Mattingly did say Puig would start on Friday.

"Yasiel gives us the best chance to win on a daily basis but today I just felt like Skip gave us the best chance to win the rest of the game," Mattingly said on Wednesday.

Puig is batting leadoff with the left-handed Eric Stults on the mound for San Diego. Mattingly said on Wednesday he prefers alternating right-handed and left-handed batters and would flip-flop with Puig and Carl Crawford in the first two spots in the batting order, as well as Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez at third and fourth, depending on the handedness of the starting pitcher.

Puig made his major league debut against the Padres on June 3, and in seven games against San Diego is hitting .321/.367/.679 with three home runs, his most against any opponent. Puig is 2-for-3 against Stults with a pair of singles.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB Gameday

The last time the Padres faced the Dodgers was in a four-game series toward the end of June. During that series, San Diego straddled the .500 mark, getting no lower than one game under .500 and as high as two games over. They also reached as high as second place in the division. Meanwhile, L.A. had become what seemed like a permanent resident in the NL West cellar, ranging from 10-12 games below .500 throughout the series and so far out of first place that many believed it would be impossible finish anywhere higher than fourth or fifth place in the division.

Now, more than two months later, both teams have taken a 180. Despite a 6-5 record over their last 11 games, thanks to an unpredictable and unbelievable stretch of 42-8 baseball from June 22nd to August 17th the Dodgers climbed back into first place and 9.5 games ahead of the second-place Diamondbacks. The Padres, on the other hand, have fallen back down to fourth place, 18 games back and only one game ahead of the last-place Giants.

Though it would be a seemingly impossible for anyone to catch the Dodgers at this point in the season, the Padres will at the very least try their best to help close the gap between them and the rest of the division. Tonight they'll send Eric Stults to the hill to try to improve on his 3-8 road record this season. Of his four career starts against L.A., three of them have come this year. He is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in those three outings. Stults had a great first half this season, but in his seven starts since the All Star Break he is 0-4 with a 4.68 ERA.

The Dodgers will also send a southpaw to the mound tonight. Hyun-Jin Ryu will make his first career appearance against San Diego. He's coming off back-to-back losses and most recently gave up four runs in five innings of work against the Red Sox. However, the rookie has been an impressive addition to the Dodgers rotation this season, going 12-5 with a 3.08 ERA in his 25 starts. He's been especially good in his 12 starts at home, going 6-2 with a 2.12 ERA.

Game time at Dodger Stadium tonight is set for 7:10.

With one month to go until the playoffs, the Dodgers and Padres have completely different mindsets on how to approach the final month of the season. Los Angeles has a 9.5 game lead in the division while San Diego trails them by 18. Joe Lanek of Gaslamp Ball recently took the time to answer a couple questions for True Blue LA about the Padres. Here are his answers:

DAVID: Who are the Padres' MVP, ROY, and Cy Young as of now?

JOE: Will Venable gets the nod for MVP, but it was looking like it'd be Everth Cabrera before his season got cut short by suspension. Even before his ridiculously productive August, Venable had been showing signs of becoming the player everyone had hoped he would for years. With injuries to Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin, and others, Will has been pressed into more service and made the most of it, hitting lefties as well as righties like never before. His 20 HR are a new career high and he's five steals away from the first 20/20 season by a Padre since Mike Cameron in 2006.

JOE: Jedd Gyorko is without a doubt our ROY. He has put up solid offensive numbers and silenced questions about his glove at second. The Mountaineer is also leading all MLB rookies in HR despite being sidelined for about a month.

JOE: The team Cy Young Award would go to Andrew Cashner just for lack of anyone else to give it to. He's been good but not great in his first season as a full-time starter, although he has his moments of brilliance that give hope for years to come.

DAVID: Looking back, do you wish San Diego traded Chase Headley?

JOE: As much as I like the guy, it looks now like they should have when they had the chance to get the world for him. But, you know what they say about hindsight; it's like Mike Cameron's 2006 season.

DAVID: Should the Padres have made more moves at the trade deadline?

JOE: No, I think they did well. The team had no need for rentals and would have been selling low to let Headley go at that point. There was chatter around Luke Gregerson, Will Venable, and Chris Denorfia but all three are under team control for next year and the latter two have more value to the Padres than they would elsewhere.

DAVID: Speaking of the deadline, did you like the Ian Kennedy trade?

JOE: Absolutely. It seemed like the perfect move for a team looking toward next year and the price was right. Even with the fences moved in, San Diego is the perfect spot for a wayward pitcher to get back on track. Pitching coach Darren Balsley and manager Bud Black, formerly a pitcher and a pitching coach himself, are notorious miracle workers.

DAVID: Earlier this season, San Diego looked like a dark horse contender when Los Angeles was slumping. What happened?

JOE: The smoke cleared and the mirrors broke. But, in seriousness, the fall has been a combination of injuries and logical regression, with a dash of bad luck thrown in to make up for the bounces that went our way when everything was smooth sailing.

DAVID: Over the last couple years, the Padres have had some pretty high draft picks (2011 - 10, 2012 - 7, 2013 - 13). Who do you think is the most promising prospect between the three?

JOE: Hunter Renfroe, this year's top pick, seems the most promising to me. Part of that is because putting faith in pitching prospects terrifies me, especially after the 82 Tommy John surgeries our young arms have undergone recently, but it's mostly because Renfroe is an exciting player who can make an impact with his bat, glove, and arm.

DAVID: Switching back to Headley, he has been dealing with a stiff back the last couple days. Do you think San Diego should just rest him the rest of the season?

JOE: It seems to be just a temporary thing, so I'd like to see him back out there whenever he's ready to be. It'd be nice for him to go out on a high note after such a disappointing year. I wouldn't be adverse to Bud Black giving him an extra day off here or there, though.

DAVID: What about Carlos Quentin? Should they rest him the rest of the season?

About an hour after I got these questions, the Padres made it official that he'd be out for the rest of the season. I like the move; this way he can get his knee surgery out of the way early and be ready for the beginning of next season and possibly even reach the 90 games played mark.

DAVID: Series prediction?

JOE: Oh, we're totally gonna sweep you guys. Alexi Amarista will hit for the cycle and Tyson Ross is going to throw a no-no.

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers made official the move that was first reported on Wednesday with the signing of Edinson Volquez to a major league contract for the remainder of the season. Volquez was activated before the Dodgers' game Friday night against the Padres.

Manager Don Mattingly said the plan was to have Volquez, who last pitched for the Padres in a start on Aug. 23, to pitch out of the bullpen at first. But eventually Volquez is slated to make a few starts for the Dodgers, though it's uncertain exactly when that will happen.

"We have to get him on the mound first before we do anything. It's not like we feels like he's a setup guy, but we've got to get him out on the mound first against major league competition," Mattingly said. "He's pretty much been a starter his whole career. He'll start in the bullpen, then we'll figure things out."

Volquez has started 149 of his 153 major league games. He will wear No. 30 with the Dodgers.

To make room for Volquez on the active roster the Dodgers optioned Chris Withrow to Triple-A Albuquerque, though the move is only temporary as the Isotopes' season concludes on Monday. Withrow can be activated as soon as Tuesday, when the Dodgers are in Colorado to face the Rockies, and because the minor league season is over doesn't have to wait the normal 10 days when optioned.

Mattingly did say Withrow would actually go to Albuquerque, and wouldn't commit to exactly when the reliever would be activated, but then again Mattingly is almost always cagey about transactions that have yet to occur.

"We'll talk about future moves when they happen," Mattingly said.

The Dodgers' 40-man roster is now full.

Notes

• Mattingly said the plan for Matt Kemp was to continue his minor league rehab assignment through Sunday with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. After that Kemp will be reevaluated and could possibly be activated as early as Monday.
  
• Mattingly teamed up with doubles partner and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt to advance to the third round of Clayton Kershaw's charity ping pong tournament on Thursday night. Mattingly and Honeycutt defeat a team of Withrow and Andre Ethier. "Then I had to send [Withrow] out. Bad day for him," Mattingly joked.
  
• A film crew from MLB Productions will be following the Dodgers around all weekend against the Padres for the next episode of "Mission October," a 30-minute show which will air on Fox Sports 1 on Monday at 4:30 p.m. PT.
  

Adrian Gonzalez and the Dodgers turned on the power on Friday night and Hyun-jin Ryu was solid on the mound, leading the Dodgers to a blowout 9-2 win over the Padres in the series opener at Dodger Stadium.

The victory was the Dodgers' 22nd of August, setting a new Los Angeles franchise record for wins in a month. The last time the Dodgers had at least 22 wins in a month was August 1953, when the team was in Brooklyn.

Gonzalez was in a 4-for-28 slump entering play on Friday but blasted a pair of home runs, one to each pavilion, to lead the Dodgers' attack. Gonzalez leads the team with 19 home runs this season.

Hyun-Jin Ryu retired the first four batters of the game but after a single by Jesus Guzman in the second inning, Logan Forsythe lined a double off the wall in left center field for a quick 1-0 Padres lead.

After Mark Ellis singled in the bottom of the second inning, Ryu followed with a double off the wall of his own to score Ellis and tie the game at 1-1. It was the third double for Ryu, which tied Clayton Kershaw for the team lead among pitchers. Ryu, who also has a triple this season, is tied with Clayton Kershaw for most extra-base hits on the team among pitchers.

Perhaps even more impressive from Ryu was that he scored from second base on a bloop single to short left field by Yasiel Puig for a 2-1 lead. Sure there were two outs, but Ryu isn't exactly known as a speed demon. He slid to avoid the tag as catcher Nick Hundley dropped the throw.

On his slide, Ryu looked a little like a man falling through a sidewalk grate.

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) August 31, 2013

Puig responded well to his Wednesday benching with four hits, including a double, and two stolen bases on Friday. On the season he has 13 home runs and 10 stolen bases, making him the first Dodgers rookie to join the 10-10 club since Russell Martin in 2006.

Hanley Ramirez doubled to open the third inning, and Adrian Gonzalez followed with a shot over the wall in left center field for a 4-1 lead. He added another home run in the seventh inning when he went back-to-back with A.J. Ellis, who hit his seventh home run of the season but first at home.

The Dodgers exploded for five runs in the seventh to break the game wide open.

It was more than enough for Ryu, who pitched into the seventh inning for his 13th win of the season. Ryu has 12 quality starts in 13 home starts and improved to 7-2 with a 2.07 ERA at Dodger Stadium.

New Dodger Edinson Volquez made his Dodgers debut with a scoreless eighth inning, the perfect situation manager Don Mattingly talked about before the game, to get Volquez back out on the mound but not with the game in the balance. Volquez is the 26th Dodgers pitcher this season, setting a new franchise record for most pitchers used.

Friday particulars

Home runs: Adrian Gonzalez 2 (19), A.J. Ellis (7)

WP - Hyun-jin Ryu (13-5): 6⅓ IP, 8 hits,1 run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

LP - Eric Stults (8-12): 5⅓ IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 strikeouts

NL West magic number: 19

2nd Inning

The scoring begins. Jesus Guzman started the fun with the bloop of all bloops over Hanley who seemed unsure on how to play the ball off the bat. I think I could have played it better and caught it, but that’s why I’m here and Jesus in on 1st. On the first pitch he saw, Logan Forsythe put it in the outfield for a hard hit double that scored Guzman.

PADRES 1-0

Game got uncool. Ryu hit the ball to the base of the wall for a game tying RBI double. He then scored on a single.

3rd inning

Will Venable got his 40th hit in August. America’s Finest City’s Sweetheart keeps the goodness coming.

The other team got 2 more runs on a home run by a former Padres Sox player.

6th Inning

After giving up a double with 1 out, Eric Stults’ night is over. 5 and 1/3 innings for Eric. He gave up 8 hits, 4 earned runs, and recorded 3 strikeouts. Anthony Bass entered the game and got out of the inning.

7th Inning

Bass got into trouble. Ramirez doubled in two runs. Former Padres Sox guy hit another home run for 2 runs. Ellis got a solo home run off Bass as well. Anthony was able to regain control of the bus before all the wheels fell off.

9th Inning

Alexi Amarista singled with 2 outs. He reached 2nd base on defensive indifference. Chris Denorfia singled to center to score Amarista. Unfortunately, the game winning rally ended with a fly ball out by Venable.

Andrew Cashner will start the game for the Padres on Saturday night. Win tomorrow, Padres.

San Diego Padres' OF/1B Kyle Blanks is nearing a return to the team's lineup and could be back as early as Sunday against the Dodgers, reports MLB.com.

San Diego has been without Blanks since July 12 while he suffered from tendinitis in both of his Achilles' tendons. Blanks has been on a minor league rehab the past week, playing in four games for Triple-A Tucson. He picked up one hit and one walk over 11 at-bats.

Blanks, 26, had been starting consistently for the Padres before going down with his injury. He has filled in where needed in both corner outfield spots and first base this year. With Yonder Alonso at first base and Carlos Quentin and Cameron Maybin out, Blanks will likely see most of his opportunities in the outfield moving forward.

Blanks, a former top prospect, is hitting .256/.318/.425 over 67 games this season with eight home runs. He had been struggling to get on base just before his injury, but nice power numbers allowed him to post a respectable OPS.

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After a 9-2 loss to open the series, the Padres will try to bounce back and take game 2 tonight. Andrew Cashner will make the start coming off a solid outing, but no-decision, against the Cubs. He gave up just two hits in seven innings, throwing 78 out of 108 pitches for strikes. He has a lifetime 0-1 record in 20 innings pitched against the Dodgers, including an outing against tonight's Dodgers starter, Chris Capuano, back in June. Cashner pitched one of his best games that night, giving up just one run in eight innings of work, but got a no-decision for his effort thanks to a lack of run support, something that has plagued him even moreso recently.

The right-hander started the second half of the season with three straight winning decisions, but since then he's lost three straight. Much of this is due to a struggling Padres offense that has failed to put runs on the board when he's taken the mound. Over his last four starts, Cashner has posted a 2.42 ERA, but has only received a combined three runs of support. In that two-hit start against the Cubs his last time out, he got no run support at all. Hopefully, though, they'll be able to put some runs together against Capuano, who hasn't been too sharp lately.

Like his Padres counterpart tonight, Capuano is winless (0-1) in his last starts. Where he differs from Cashner is his 6.98 ERA and failure to pitch into the 6th inning in each of his starts during that stretch. The lefty gave up three runs on six hits his last time out, against the Red Sox, and was pulled after five innings. He is 5-5 all-time versus San Diego and 0-1 in his last four outings (two of which were starts) against them. He did, however, look great in that June start opposite Cashner. He got a no-decision, but tossed five scoreless innings, working on three days' rest, against the Padres at Petco Park. That was a huge improvement over his other start against the Padres this season. In a home start against them back in April he gave up five runs, all earned, and was pulled after just two innings.

The Dodgers offense had no trouble scoring off Padres pitching last night, and they'll look to continue that tonight. Once again, Adrian Gonzalez was a menace to his former team, hitting two homers and driving in four of L.A.'s nine runs last night. He's batted .354 with six home runs and 18 RBI in 20 games against the Padres. He has been even better at home, where he's it .405 with 10 RBI in half of those games. Rookie Yasiel Puig has also played well against the Padres this season. In eight games versus San Diego, Puig has hit three homers and driven in seven runs while batting .394. Gonzalez is 2-for-7 and Puig is 1-for-3 all-time against Cashner.

Tune in at 6:10 tonight to see if the Padres can even up the series at Chavez Ravine.

LOS ANGELES -- Friday night saw an unusual power display at Dodger Stadium, as the Dodgers unloaded on the Padres in a 9-2 victory. The team had five doubles and three home runs, the first time they have had eight extra-base hits in a home game since Aug. 4, 2009.

"The ball was carrying decently tonight.," manager Don Mattingly said after the game. "Most of the time at night you're not going to get that carry, but on a warm night tonight the ball carried good."

The Dodgers have hit three home runs in a home game twice this season, both against the Padres. June 4 was the other game, in which Yasiel Puig hit a pair in his second major league game.

Three months later, Puig is still hitting, though on Friday he did so with three singles, a double and two stolen bases. His 4-for-5 game came with great timing, his first game since getting removed for disciplinary reasons on Wednesday. Though as Mattingly noted, Wednesday's game was put behind the team almost immediately.

"It's a situation that has been handled. It's over. We're moving on," Mattingly said. "He got us going early, and then the guys kept swinging the bat. He was good tonight, real good."

Hanley Ramirez hit two doubles, Adrian Gonzalez hit two home runs and A.J. Ellis smacked a home run.

For Ellis it was his seventh home run of the season, but his first at home. The timing was rich, because I tweeted this before the game.

Eric Stults has more home runs at Dodger Stadium this year than Matt Kemp and A.J. Ellis combined

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) August 30, 2013

I saw Ellis in the dugout prior to Friday's game and he said, "I saw your Stults tweet. You're killing me."

It should be noted that Ellis had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, as he is seemingly always in a good mood and often self deprecating.

"Obviously [the ball was carrying]. I hit a home run. That means the ball is flying," Ellis said after the game. "When it's warm here at the stadium, the ball seems to carry."

Ellis had every right to go full Brandon Phillips on me after the game, calling me "a fat motherf**ker." After all, I am a fat motherf**ker.

But he didn't.

At his locker Ellis looked at me and had a wry smile on his face, and told me he saw my apology tweet (after his home run). I joked that I half expected him to point up to the press box after hitting the home run.

"Like that guy from The Sandlot," Ellis said.

I told Ellis that would make him Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez, and he said that would make me Smalls (which makes sense; after all, he did say earlier, "You're killing me.").

"We just need to get you a floppy hat," he joked.

Did I mention the Dodgers will be showing "The Sandlot" on the HD video screens after Sunday's game? What timing.

In fairness to Ellis, he is hitting .266/.359/.414 on the road, and his .344 wOBA away from home is 10th among MLB catchers. He has as many home runs on the road (six) as Joe Mauer. And it's not like Ellis is alone in hitting better on the road.

As a team the Dodgers are hitting .257/.313/.380 and averaging 3.52 runs per game at home, and hitting .273/.342/.409 and scoring 4.64 runs per game on the road. What makes Dodger Stadium such a tough place to hit?

"You talk about the marine layer and all these factors, it's just one of those places where it's a little more challenging to hit here," Ellis said. "It's a fair stadium; when you get it, you get it. There are no cheapies here.

"I've never heard a pitcher say they hate pitching here. Everybody loves the visual, they love being out on the mound. Guys talk about how high they feel out there on the mound, and the closer they feel to home plate, and that's a good combination for feeling pretty confident out there. You tend to see some strong pitching here."

Up next

The Dodgers go for a third straight win and a 23rd August win on Saturday, with Chris Capuano on the mound. Andrew Cashner starts for the Padres.

Guess who's back, back again. Kyle's back; tell a friend!

Apologies to Mr. Mathers for the paraphrasing, but I'm just really excited that Kyle Blanks is returning to action with the big club. He had been on the disabled list since mid-July due to a fouled-up Achilles tendon that had been bugging him for over a month prior to that.

As always, the news came down from above via ever-present fountain of knowledge Corey Brock:

The #Padres have reinstated Kyle Blanks from the DL. Optioned RHP Anthony Bass. No word on Alonso until clubhouse opens.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) August 31, 2013

That Bass is the one getting optioned should be of no surprise. He gave up five earned runs in less than two innings last night, raising his ERA a full point. Not his finest moment, but he's a heck of a competitor, he'll bounce back, and all those other nice cliches you say about a guy you like after he gets shelled.

Brock's mention of Alonso relates to Yonder leaving the game last night with a mystery injury to his right hand, the same hand he fractured earlier in the season. I have my fingers crossed, and I hope he's capable of doing the same thing.

So, welcome back, Blanksy! It felt so empty without you.

LOS ANGELES -- Adrian Gonzalez fell victim to the flu that made its way through the Dodgers clubhouse last week but after a couple of days off the Dodgers first baseman looked every bit at full strength on Friday in the opener against the Padres. Gonzalez continued to torment his old team.

Gonzalez hit two home runs on Friday, his first multi-home run game of the season and fifth such game by the Dodgers this year. Manager Don Mattingly said both balls were "crushed" by Gonzalez, and A.J. Ellis said the two home runs would have been out of any ball park.

The home runs came after a 4-for-28 slump that partially coincided with the flu bug. Gonzalez said he first felt something on Saturday but the flu got worse by Monday morning.

After an 0-for-9 on Monday and Tuesday combined against Chicago, Gonzalez was given the day off in the series finale Wednesday against the Cubs. Coupled with no game on Thursday, Gonzalez had two full days of rest, and it showed.

Six of his team-leading 19 home runs this season have been hit against San Diego.

In his career Gonzalez has hit .387/.410/.634 in 23 games against his old team. His .387 mark is the fourth highest batting average all-time against the Padres (minimum 75 plate appearances) and tops among active players. But Gonzalez, lauded for his consistency, maintains the opponent doesn't matter to him.

"Our job is to come out and play, and not focus on who we're playing," Gonzalez said Friday. "We're not going to change what we're doing."

Gonzalez is 2-for-7 with a double against Andrew Cashner, starting for the Padres on Saturday night.

Roster move

Before Saturday's game the Padres activated Kyle Blanks from the disabled list, and put him in the starting lineup, batting fifth. San Diego optioned right-handed pitcher Anthony Bass to Triple-A Tucson.

Game info

Time: 6:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB Gameday

The Dodgers go for a third straight win on Saturday night as they host the Padres at Dodger Stadium.

LOS ANGELES -- Adrian Gonzalez fell victim to the flu that made its way through the Dodgers clubhouse last week but after a couple of days off the Dodgers first baseman looked every bit at full strength on Friday in the opener against the Padres. Gonzalez continued to torment his old team.

Gonzalez hit two home runs on Friday, his first multi-home run game of the season and fifth such game by the Dodgers this year. Manager Don Mattingly said both balls were "crushed" by Gonzalez, and A.J. Ellis said the two home runs would have been out of any ball park.

The home runs came after a 4-for-28 slump that partially coincided with the flu bug. Gonzalez said he first felt something on Saturday but the flu got worse by Monday morning.

After an 0-for-9 on Monday and Tuesday combined against Chicago, Gonzalez was given the day off in the series finale Wednesday against the Cubs. Coupled with no game on Thursday, Gonzalez had two full days of rest, and it showed.

Six of his team-leading 19 home runs this season have been hit against San Diego.

In his career Gonzalez has hit .387/.410/.634 in 23 games against his old team. His .387 mark is the fourth highest batting average all-time against the Padres (minimum 75 plate appearances) and tops among active players. But Gonzalez, lauded for his consistency, maintains the opponent doesn't matter to him.

"Our job is to come out and play, and not focus on who we're playing," Gonzalez said Friday. "We're not going to change what we're doing."

Gonzalez is 2-for-7 with a double against Andrew Cashner, starting for the Padres on Saturday night.

Roster move

Before Saturday's game the Padres activated Kyle Blanks from the disabled list, and put him in the starting lineup, batting fifth. San Diego optioned right-handed pitcher Anthony Bass to Triple-A Tucson.

Game info

Time: 6:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB Gameday

The San Diego Padres activated outfielder/first baseman Kyle Blanks from the disabled list on Saturday.

The #Padres have reinstated Kyle Blanks from the DL. Optioned RHP Anthony Bass. No word on Alonso until clubhouse opens.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) August 31, 2013

San Diego has played without Blanks since July 12, when he was diagnosed with tendinitis in both of his Achillies' tendons. For the past week, Blanks has been on a minor league rehab assignment for the past week, playing four games with Triple-A Tuscon and going 1-for-11.

The 26-year old was a consistent starte at both corner outfield spots and first base. for the Padres before he went down with injury. At the moment, the Padres have Yonder Alonso (although Alonso injured his hand on Friday) at first base and are missing Carlos Quentin and Cameron Maybin, likely meaning that Kyle Blanks will see most of his opportunities in the outfield.

A former top prospect, Blanks was having an average season for San Diego before his injury, hitting .256/.318/.425 over 67 games, smashing eight home runs. He started in left field for the Padres on Saturday. The return of Blanks is needed for the Padres at the moment as they have six starters out with injuries, Yasmani Grandal, Alonso, Everth Cabrera, Chase Headley, Quentin and Maybin.

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The Padres already scored one run against the Dodgers in the fourth inning on Saturday night. San Diego catcher Rene Rivera tried to make it two runs by scoring from second on a single to right field.

There was only one problem: Yasiel Puig plays right field.

Maybe the best thing about the play was home plate umpire Jerry Layne's emphatic out call, seemingly punching Rivera.

Chris Capuano pitched seven strong innings and the Dodgers rallied behind him. One second baseman drove in another in the eighth inning on Saturday night to give the Dodgers a 2-1 win over the Padres and their third straight victory.

Skip Schumaker, starting at second base for Mark Ellis, doubled to open the eighth inning. One out later, Ellis was used as a pinch hitter and singled him home for what proved to be the winning run.

Capuano turned in his best performance in four weeks, pitching seven innings. Capuano's eight hits allowed were mostly scattered, though Ronny Cedeno hit one over the wall in right center field for his first home run of the season in the fourth inning.

The Padres might have added another run in the fourth were it not for the arm of Yasiel Puig in right field, erasing Rene Rivera at home plate:

Andrew Cashner made it seem as if that 1-0 lead would hold, as he pitched scoreless ball through the sixth inning. The Dodgers finally got to him in the seventh, as singles by Jerry Hairston, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez tied the game.

Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless eighth inning for his first win as a Dodger. He is the 16th Dodgers pitcher to record a victory in 2013. Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth for his 23rd save of the season.

Saturday particulars

Home run: Ronny Cedeno (1)

WP - Brian Wilson (1-0): 1 IP, 2 hits

LP - Nick Vincent (3-2): 1 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 strikeout

Sv - Kenley Jansen (23): 1 IP, 3 strikeouts

1st Inning

With 2 outs in the inning, Jedd Gyorko doubled to the wall in center to get a Padre on base to start the game. Unfortunately, there he stayed after a pop up by Jesus Guzman to end the inning.

“The rookie” for the other team drew a walk in an at bat that drew the ire of Andrew Cashner. On a 2-0 count, he showed bunt for the sake of showing bunt to play mind games. On ball 4, he made his way to 1st while Cashner sent some harsh words his way. On the 2nd of 3 pickoff throws from the mound to 1st, Guzman made sure to tag him on the cup to test his groin. Maybe it worked because on his steal attempt later in the inning, he made the weirdest slide ever. Arms and legs flailing 2 feet from 2nd, Rene Rivera got the ball on target for Ronny Cedeno to apply the tag easily. “The rookie” then sulked his way back to the dugout.

2nd inning

Kyle Blanks lead off the inning with a single in his first at-bat after being activated off the DL.

After giving up 2 singles in the bottom of the inning, Cashner regained control and recorded 3 straight outs including 2 strikeouts to end the inning.

3rd inning

Jedd Gyorko singled to left to give him his 2nd hit of the game. First a double, now a single. I like where this is going. Unfortunately, with a Jedd hit, Guzman once again records the third out to end the inning.

4th Inning

After 2 outs, Ronny Cedeno stepped up to the plate to try and make an impact on the game. An impact was made. A ball to right center clears the wall for a solo home run and for THE LEAD. Also, Dick Enberg had no idea it was gone. It was hit so gingerly that he knew there was no way it would go over the wall. But, it did. It was Cedeno’s first home run as a Padre and his first since September 8th, 2012 as a member of the Mets. Rene Rivera helped Enberg get that double he wanted to call by putting it in right field. Andrew Cashner followed that up with a single to right, but with Rivera going on contact, he was homeward bound. Yet, so was the ball. Rivera gets thrown out at home to end the Padres inning.

6th Inning

Cashner got into a bit of a jam with 1 out in the inning. After giving up a double and a single, there were runners on the corners. He was able to get the batter to line out to Cedeno to the dismay of the crowd who explode with noise after any sort of contact. The next batter met a similar fate that his teammates had encountered throughout the night, the inevitable strikeout. That was Cashner’s 6th of the game and his 3rd to end an inning.

7th Inning

With 2 outs in the inning, Andrew Cashner continues his dual-star type of thing he had going tonight with a double to right field. 2 hits tonight for him.

The bottom of the inning. It could have been worse than it was. After 2 singles and a strikeout, the former Padres Sox guy got another run scoring hit. That guy… With the game now tied, Logan Forsythe then committed an error on his throw to first after recording the out at third on a ground ball. With two runners on, Bud Black comes out to check on Cashner. After giving him the head nod of “I got this”, Cashner intentionally walks the bases loaded. A ground ball to Forsythe ends the inning when he records the out at third.

8th Inning

Jedd Gyorko led off the inning with an infield single, then an error, then finally an infield single. Talk about indecisive. After a Guzman foul out, Kyle Blanks got his 2nd hit of the game with a single, but a Forsythe ground ball results in a rally ending double play.

Nick Vincent came into the game in relief of Andrew Cashner. It was quite a showing by Cashner tonight. He went 7 innings and piled up 7 strikeouts in his 119 pitches worth of work. He gave up 10 hits and 3 walks, but allowed only 1 earned run in a no decision. Vincent ran into trouble and paid the price. After a double and a sacrifice, a pinch hitter batted for the pitcher and delivered the crushing blow. A single to center scores the go ahead run.

9th Inning

Nothing happened.

Tomorrow, the Padres look to avoid the sweep with Tyson Ross on the mound. Last game of the road trip. Get that happy flight. Or drive. Whatever it takes to leave this place. Win tomorrow, Padres!