LOS ANGELES — After the rain stopped and the wind died down, the night was perfect for Dodgers starter Gavin Stone. Until it wasn’t.
The right-hander flirted with a perfect game through five innings while striking out four in his third start of the season. Then came the sixth and it all fell apart.
But his Dodgers teammates salvaged the night for Stone, scoring three runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to beat the Padres 5-2 in a game that was delayed for more than two hours by persistent showers.
Stone saw his chance at baseball’s rare feat disappear in a series of three base hits that led to the Padres tying the game, 1-1, in the sixth inning. The Dodgers had taken an early lead on Mookie Betts’ RBI single to left in the fourth inning.
But the Dodgers responded with an explosive sixth. After chasing Padres starter Matt Waldron (0-2), the Dodgers quickly jumped on reliever Tom Cosgrove, who started off by hitting third baseman Max Muncy.
Kike Hernandez (2 for 4), who started in left in place of a struggling Chris Taylor, then singled to put runners on at first and second. Gavin Lux singled to drive in Muncy for the go-ahead run. Betts (3 for 5) then singled to right for his second RBI to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. Gavin Lux scored on a sacrifice fly by Shohei Otani and the Dodgers led, 4-1.
The Padres came back with one run in the seventh, ending Stone’s night. He left having given up two runs on five hits through 6.2 innings, picking up his first victory of the season. He struck out four and walked two.
The Dodgers weren’t ready to go home, though. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Muncy lofted a high fly ball to center that scored Teoscar Hernandez, who had singled then raced to third on a throwing error by Fernando Tatis Jr. for a 5-2 lead.
But for much of the game, the focus was on Stone, who last year struggled. He endured a blister on his right foot that led him to lose velocity, alter his mechanics and tip pitches. Despite all that, he earned the final spot in the Dodgers’ rotation to begin the season.
Through three starts, though, the right-hander has given up 10 runs on 16 hits and six walks.
For once, the spotlight wasn’t on Ohtani, who had a quiet night at the plate. After hitting a history-making 175th career home run the previous night, he went hitless, ending an eight-game stretch in which the Dodgers slugger had batted .458 (16 for 35) with four homers, seven doubles and six RBIs.
