LOS ANGELES _ Dodger Stadium began shaking Friday night.
Granted, the place had rattled plenty in its previous nine games, rocking as the Dodgers rolled to raucous wins in each. But it wasn't the result, a 3-2 Los Angeles Dodgers loss to the San Diego Padres, that caused this quaking. This time, Chavez Ravine trembled for real.
At 8:21 p.m., with Enrique Hernandez facing Padres pitcher Eric Lauer in the bottom of the fourth, an earthquake with a recorded 7.1 magnitude shook the park and its 49,790 spectators. Although its epicenter was more than 150 miles away near Ridgecrest, Calif., the same place Thursday morning's slightly smaller Southern California temblor originated, the effects were nonetheless felt.
For nearly a minute the venue jiggled, evident from the suddenly shaky center field camera shown on the television broadcast. Undeterred, pockets of fans around the park stood and cheered. On the mound, Lauer was unfazed too. He kicked and fired three pitches all the same.
"I don't understand how the players can't feel it," SportsNet LA color commentator Orel Hershiser said on the broadcast.
According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, no one on the field level could. After fouling off a fastball to make the count 1-and-2, Hernandez stepped out of the box and looked around as a buzz swept through the stands, unaware that the scoreboards and light poles and rows of seats had been subtly swaying around him.
"I was hoping he'd hit the ball out of the ballpark," said Roberts, who was quickly alerted to the situation in the dugout. "To add to the commotion."
Play resumed within moments, with Hernandez flying out to end the inning. Aside from a handful of spectators filing for the exits early, the game continued without a hitch. The Dodgers weren't so lucky.
Down 2-0 early, the Dodgers had positioned themselves to extend their home winning streak by the time the earth began to move. Starter Clayton Kershaw delivered seven stellar innings, allowing five hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out nine.
Sloppy Padres defense, meanwhile, allowed the Dodgers to claw their way back. In the third, Austin Barnes reached on a dropped blooper to right before being driven home by Chris Taylor. With the bases loaded in the sixth, Alex Verdugo scored from third on a Max Muncy grounder after Eric Hosmer's throw to the plate was off-line.
But after Hunter Renfroe belted a solo home run off reliever Yimi Garcia in the top of the eighth to put the Padres back in front, there wasn't any late-inning Dodgers magic. The club that had delivered on demand in recent weeks _ including five consecutive earth-shattering walk-offs at home, ranging from extra-inning home runs to a game-winning walk _ came up empty.
Lauer, a 24-year-old left-hander, handled the Dodgers lineup during a six-inning, two-run (one earned), six-strikeout display. The Dodgers couldn't break through against the Padres bullpen either, stranding a runner in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Friday's loss was the Dodgers' first such setback since June 17 _ they came up one win shy of matching their season-best home winning streak of 10 _ while their 37-10 home mark remains by far the best in baseball.
