*Photo from the Los Angeles Times*
We were close to seeing perfection. Gavin Stone flirted with a perfect game, Mookie Betts drove in two runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres with a 5-2 victory Saturday night in Los Angeles.
After a more than two hour rain delay, the game started late, and Stone delivered the best start of his career, taking a perfect game deep into this one. Betts led the charge on offense with two RBI's as the Dodgers improved to 11-6 with the win to open the season.
Betts got the Dodgers on the board in the 4th inning, hitting a single to left field that brought in James Outman to make it 1-0. In the 6th inning, Fernando Tatis Jr hit an RBI double, getting the Padres on the board and tying the game 1-1. Betts and Gavin Lux each hit RBI singles in the bottom of the 6th to make it 3-1 Dodgers.
Later in the 6th, Shohei Ohtani made it 4-1 on a sac fly to Jackson Merrill in center field, scoring Lux from 3rd base. In the 7th inning, Tyler Wade hit an RBI single that scored Ha-Seong Kim, cutting the Padres deficit to 4-2. In the bottom of the 7th, Max Muncy hit a sac fly that scored Teoscar Hernandez to make it 5-2 Dodgers.
Stone took a perfect game into the 6th inning before it ended, eventually being responsible for 7 baserunners and two runs in 6 2/3 innings. Michael Grove finished the 7th off before Daniel Hudson and Evan Phillips sealed the win, with Phillips getting his 5th save of the season.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said of Stone's start that "We needed it. We needed the length. We needed to put up zeroes, and he was fantastic all night. This is what can happen when you pitch with conviction, and he was on the attack from pitch one, flooding the zone, making those guys comfortable, and using his entire pitch mix. I can’t say enough about what Gavin Stone did tonight."
Matt Waldron started for the Padres and gave up one run on 3 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings. Tom Cosgrove only got one out in the 6th, giving up 3 runs to get the loss. Adrian Morejon allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings before Jhony Brito pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
This game got testy in the middle of the night. With Stone still working on a perfect game, Jurickson Profar of the Padres squared around to bunt on a pitch before pulling back on the pitch. Stone threw inside and nearly hit Profar with the next pitch. Profar stared down Stone and started exchanging words with Dodgers catcher Will Smith. Benches and bullpens cleared, but no punches were thrown and no one was ejected.
San Diego manager Mike Shildt said after the game that "Obviously I wasn't at the plate, and I don't know what was said, but you don't have to like that, nor should he like it. And if he had something to say, I support him completely. You take exception to a guy running something in on you tight. I think he maybe said something and maybe something was said back, I'm not really sure. We're not gonna start anything, but we're not gonna take anything."
The series wraps up Sunday night. Both teams go for the series win with James Paxton starting for the Dodgers and Yu Darvish taking the mound for the Padres.
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