LOS ANGELES _ Just when San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler could practically be heard saying his team can't play like that and expect to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Dodgers played like that.
Errors on back-to-back bunts helped the Padres on their way to five runs in the third inning and a 6-2 victory Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
The big blast in the third was Manny Machado's grand slam, but a run had scored and the bases were loaded because after Jake Cronenworth led off the inning with a double, Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling threw high to first base on an attempt to get Austin Hedges on a sacrifice bunt and L.A. third baseman Justin Turner threw wide to first trying to get Jurickson Profar on a sacrifice bunt.
Cronenworth scored on Stripling's error. Hedges moved to second on Turner's error, and the bases were loaded when Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to extend his hitting streak to nine games and his on-base streak to 18 games.
After Trent Grisham's grounder was fielded by Turner, who threw home to force out Hedges, Machado sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in center field to give the Padres a 5-1 lead.
The Dodgers had taken a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with help from Turner's lead-off double that went off Profar's glove.
Profar, playing in left field for the second straight night but also just the second time this season, had to run and leap for the drive from Turner but could have reasonably been expected to make the catch.
That _ as well as a single on a moderately hard roller that went off Machado's glove in the first inning _ was the kind of play Tingler lamented as the Padres dropped the final two games of a series against the Dodgers last week at Petco Park. He has talked several times about a higher level of play being required if the Padres are to topple the seven-time defending National League West champions.
A sharp defensive effort, as well as a crisp performance by the bullpen, in a 2-1 victory here Monday drew this praise from the Padres manager on Tuesday afternoon:
"I felt like we completed the game last night, for sure. We finished plays. We made pitches and just were able to complete the game without _ maybe not the errors, just to be able to finish it clean. I thought we did a good job."
There were some fine plays Tuesday.
An Eric Hosmer-to-Tatis-back-to-Hosmer double play ended the Dodgers' first inning, and Cronenworth's backhanded flip to Tatis started an inning-ending double play in the third. Both of those grounders were hit by reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger, who is 4-for-21 in five games against the Padres this season and is batting .166 overall.
And the second inning ended when Profar fielded Kike Hernandez's double to the base of the wall and threw to Tatis, who fired home to Hedges just in time to get Chris Taylor trying to score from first base. On the play, with Hedges to the inside of home plate, Taylor might have been safe had he slid, as is required, but instead tried to dislodge the ball from Hedges with his shoulder. Hedges held onto the ball and had some words for Taylor, who returned some thoughts as home plate umpire Jim Reynolds and Hosmer got between them.
The Padres poured on the five runs the next inning. They added another in the fifth on Profar's homer.
They could have added more that inning if Tatis had not been picked off second after he singled and stole his fifth base of the season. Tatis actually beat the throw from Stripling, but Hernandez, the second baseman, stepped on Tatis' foot, preventing it from touching the bag in time.
Garrett Richards, who allowed the Dodgers four runs in five innings last Wednesday, spread out six hits in going six innings for the first time in four starts this season.
Pierce Johnson threw a scoreless seventh inning. Cronenworth bobbled a grounder by Mookie Betts, preventing Tim Hill from getting all three outs in the eighth. Instead, Javy Guerra came in with two outs and Betts on second and got Turner on a line drive to center field. Guerra allowed a run in the ninth before Tingler decided to have Drew Pomeranz lock down the victory by getting the final out on one pitch. It was Pomeranz's second save in as many nights.
The Padres on Monday improved to 6-0 in the opening game of a series this season. Tuesday was just the second time they won the second game of a series.
"It's always nice to start with a win," Tingler said Tuesday afternoon. "... We definitely need to be better on days two and three."
They arguably were not in this one, save for capitalizing on their opponent's mistakes. But in improving to 3-2 against the Dodgers and 11-7 on the season, the Padres moved into a second-place tie with L.A., 1 { games behind the Rockies (12-5).
