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