Nothing separated the teams through four innings at Petco Park. Then the fifth arrived, and the Dodgers made it count. Three runs in that frame proved to be all Los Angeles needed in a 4-2 victory over San Diego on Sunday before 41,189 fans.
Emmet Sheehan anchored the effort on the mound, working 5.0 innings and allowing 1 run on 2 hits, walking 2 and striking out 5 on 84 pitches. He picks up his fourth win against five losses, carrying a 5.08 ERA. Edgardo Henriquez closed it out with a scoreless ninth — 1.0 inning, 1 walk, no hits — earning his first save of the season.
Shohei Ohtani broke the scoreless tie in the third, singling to left to score Alex Freeland and give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. Manny Machado answered in the fourth with a home run to left center, 367 feet, to knot the game at 1-1. The fifth inning settled matters. Freeland scored on a Freddie Freeman walk to put the Dodgers back in front, and Mookie Betts followed with a single to center that scored both Ohtani and Andy Pages, pushing the lead to 4-1. Betts finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Xander Bogaerts singled to center in the sixth to score Jackson Merrill and trim the deficit to 4-2, but San Diego could get no closer.
Michael King absorbed the loss, departing after 4.1 innings having allowed 4 runs on 3 hits with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts on 90 pitches. He falls to 5-7 with a 3.46 ERA. The Padres managed only 6 hits on the night and left the tying run on the bases in the late innings.
Los Angeles, at 52-30, sits atop the division despite dropping this one after a previous win. San Diego extended its winning streak to four games and improved to 43-37, holding second place in the division.