SAN DIEGO — It’s been a bumpy road for the Los Angeles Dodgers since they returned stateside after beginning the season with two wins against Arizona in Australia.
SAN DIEGO — It’s been a bumpy road for the Los Angeles Dodgers since they returned stateside after beginning the season with two wins against Arizona in Australia.
Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw is expected to miss the bulk of April with a swollen muscle in his left upper back, and now reliever Brian Wilson will be placed on the disabled list with what manager Don Mattingly said is nerve irritation in his right elbow.
The Dodgers did manage to beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Tuesday after Kenley Jansen escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning. Yasiel Puig hit a 410-foot drive for a two-run homer and Zack Greinke threw five strong innings to win his season debut.
Mattingly said Wilson had an MRI on Monday that showed nerve irritation. Mattingly said there was no sign of ligament damage. Wilson had reconstructive surgery in April 2012.
“The MRI overall was not good news, but it was better than it could have been,” Mattingly said. “I was pleased and relieved that it wasn’t something bigger than what it is. We feel like it’s something that just needs to calm down and then kind of built going the other direction.”
The Dodgers’ bullpen has had a rough go since returning from Sydney. Wilson allowed three runs in the eighth inning of Sunday night’s 3-1 loss, and Jansen had to dance out of trouble in the ninth on Tuesday.
The Padres loaded the bases with two out on singles by Yonder Alonso and Will Venable, and a walk to Yasmani Grandal. Jansen then struck out pinch-hitter Nick Hundley to earn his second save in two chances.
Mattingly thinks the bullpen is going to be fine over time.
“We’ve had one bad inning, really. We’re getting it done, but it’s just a little rough right now,” he said. “It’s not as smooth as it can be. Confident with our guys I think as we get into the normal work, normal days, we’ll be OK.”
Carl Crawford started the game with a base hit and Puig then drove a 2-1 pitch from Ian Kennedy into the balcony on the third deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building in the left-field corner. It was his first homer.
“At the time, when it happens so fast, I don’t know if I caught too much plate,” Kennedy said. “He did a really good job of getting his hands up. He’s a really good hitter. Puig did a good job of hitting what I thought was a good pitch. But he’s one of the best hitters in the National League.”
It was the second time Kennedy faced the Dodgers since June 11, when, while with Arizona, he hit Puig and Greinke with pitches, inciting a brawl at Dodger Stadium. Kennedy was suspended 10 games. He was traded to the Padres on July 31.
Greinke retired his first 10 batters before Seth Smith homered into a party deck atop the right-field wall, trimming San Diego’s deficit to 3-1. Smith earned the start in left field against the right-handed Greinke after homering to start an eighth-inning rally in a 3-1 win Sunday night.
Greinke (1-0) went five innings, allowing two runs and two hits while striking out five and walking two.
MARLINS 4, ROCKIES 3
MIAMI — Nathan Eovaldi pitched six innings and Miami made the most of five hits to beat Colorado for the second night in a row.
The Marlins’ 2-0 start hints at big improvement from last year, when they began 14-41 en route to a 100-loss season. The Rockies are 0-2 after finishing last in the NL West in 2013.
Eovaldi (1-0) allowed two runs and struck out six after Jose Fernandez limited Colorado to one run in the season opener. Eovaldi gave up six hits, walked one and reached 99 mph on the radar gun.
A.J. Ramos struck out Nolan Arenado with runners at the corners to end the eighth, protecting a one-run lead. Steve Cishek converted his 30th consecutive save opportunity and first of the year by pitching a perfect ninth.
Brett Anderson (0-1) pitched six innings and allowed four runs, three earned, in his first start for the Rockies.
DIAMONDBACKS 5
GIANTS 4
PHOENIX — A.J. Pollock broke out of an 0-for-13 start to the season with three hits, scoring twice and driving in a run for Arizona.
Wade Miley (1-1) gave up four runs in the first inning, and then blanked the Giants for the next six, retiring 15 in a row in one stretch.
Gerardo Parra had two hits and the sacrifice fly that scored to the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
Brandon Belt hit a three-run home run in the first, his second homer in as many games.
Addison Reed, who gave up the game-winning home run to Buster Posey Monday night, pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save with the Diamondbacks.
Juan Guiterrez (0-1) went two innings to take the loss in relief of Matt Cain, who allowed two earned runs in five innings.
BRAVES 5, BREWERS 2
MILWAUKEE — Freddie Freeman hit a pair of solo home runs and Jason Heyward added a two-run shot to back a solid outing by Alex Wood.
Heyward’s first homer of the season off Kyle Lohse (0-1) put the Braves on top 2-1 in the fifth and snapped a string of 22 scoreless innings against the Brewers.
Freeman opened the sixth with his first homer and added a two-out home run in the eighth to make it 4-1.
Wood (1-0) settled down after allowing a home run to Carlos Gomez on his first pitch. The left-hander allowed one run on five hits in seven innings. Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for the save.
Lohse allowed three runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking two.
ASTROS 6, YANKEES 2
HOUSTON — Jesus Guzman and L.J. Hoes homered off CC Sabathia to help the Houston Astros roll to a 6-2 win Tuesday night in the first game of Derek Jeter’s farewell tour with the New York Yankees.
Jeter’s final big league season began by being plunked on the left arm by Scott Feldman. The 13-time All-Star went 1 for 3 with a single.
Jeter, who has won five World Series with New York, announced in February that his 20th season would be his last.
The Astros added Dexter Fowler and Scott Feldman to improve a team coming off three straight 100-loss seasons. On the first day, it worked.
Fowler had two doubles as Houston jumped on Sabathia (0-1) for six runs in the first two innings. Feldman allowed two hits in 6 2-3 innings in his Houston debut after signing a three-year, $30 million contract.
BLUE JAYS 4, RAYS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Drew Hutchison won his first start in almost two years and Adam Lind homered for the visiting Blue Jays.
Hutchison (1-0) allowed three hits and walked three over 5 1-3 shutout innings in his first big league game since June 15, 2012. The right-hander had elbow ligament replacement surgery in August 2012.
Lind hit a three-run homer in the first off Alex Cobb (0-1). He sent a 3-1 pitch over the center-field fence.
Cobb gave up four runs, five hits and four walks in five innings.
Jonathan Diaz, filling in for injured Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes, made it 4-0 with his first major league hit, an RBI single in the fourth.
INTERLEAGUE
RANGERS 3, PHILLIES 2
ARLINGTON, Texas — Adrian Beltre singled home Shin-Soo Choo with the winning run in the ninth inning, and the Rangers saved a run on a successful replay challenge.
Choo, who also scored the tying run in the seventh, reached base for the fourth time on a walk to start the ninth against Mario Hollands (0-1), who was making his major league debut.
After Elvis Andrus’ sacrifice and a walk to Prince Fielder, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg went to right-hander B.J. Rosenberg. Beltre then singled, scoring Choo without a throw.
New Texas closer Joakim Soria (1-0) got the win with a perfect ninth inning in his season debut.
The first replay review of the series was a successful challenge by Rangers manager Ron Washington and helped keep a run off the board in Philadelphia’s two-run sixth inning.
MARINERS 8, ANGELS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Brad Miller hit two homers, Erasmo Ramirez pitched seven innings of six-hit ball, and Seattle beat Los Angeles again.
Justin Smoak hit a three-run double, while Abraham Almonte and Dustin Ackley also had RBI doubles as the Mariners followed up their 10-3 win on opening day with another surprising offensive barrage.
Seattle scored 16 runs in its first 15 innings of the year while beating Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson, their AL West rivals’ two best starters.
Wilson (0-1) labored into the sixth inning for the Angels, who are off to their first 0-2 start since 2001.
Ramirez (1-0) backed up his solid spring training, striking out six without walking a batter.