MLB: Los Angeles’s Joc Pederson hits a grand slam to give the Dodgers a 14-3 win over San Diego.
LOS ANGELES — Joc Pederson launched a grand slam and the Dodgers hit a franchise-record four home runs on opening day, leading Clayton Kershaw and Los Angeles over the San Diego Padres 14-3 Monday.
Pederson drove in five runs, Yasmani Grandal homered twice and Corey Seager added a threerun shot.
Kershaw (1-0) allowed two runs — one earned — and two hits in seven innings, struck out eight and walked none in his seventh consecutive opening day start. He tied the team mark for most opening day starts in matching Don Sutton, who started seven straight openers from 1972-78, and Don Drysdale, whose seven weren’t consecutive.
Kershaw’s fifth opening day victory equaled Drysdale for most in franchise history.
Jhoulys Chacin (0-1) gave up nine runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings in his Padres debut.
Vin Scully wasn’t in the Dodgers booth for the first time since 1950, having retired last season at age 88. His successor, 29-year-old Joe Davis, had plenty to talk about. The Dodgers’ runs fell just short of their 15-0 victory over the Padres on opening day a year ago in San Diego.
Grandal followed Pederson’s slam in the third inning with a solo homer into the same lower rightfield seats. Both came with two outs and gave the Dodgers a 6-1 lead.
Pederson’s slam was the team’s first on opening day since Eric Karros had one in 2000 at Montreal. The center fielder’s five-RBI performance, including a sacrifice fly in the second, was the first to open a Dodgers season since Raul Mondesi in 1999 against Arizona.
Seager, last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, homered with two outs in the fifth off catcher-turned-pitcher Christian Bethancourt, whose consecutive wild pitches in the fourth led to two of the Dodgers’ three runs in the inning.
Bethancourt, who will be used out of the bullpen and behind the plate this season, got tagged for three runs, three hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings.
Kershaw, who had 46 hits last season, singled leading off the fourth and scored on Justin Turner’s double before Bethancourt’s two wild pitches extended the Dodgers’ lead to 9-1. On his first wild pitch, Bethancourt ran to cover the plate and was struck in the leg on Andrew Toles’ slide, but eventually got up and returned to the mound.