SAN DIEGO _ Alex Wood on Sunday returned to the mound at Petco Park, the site of a recent fracas. A little more than two months ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander threatened to "drill" Jose Pirela for allegedly relaying pitch locations. Tensions frothed, culminating in a heated encounter between managers.
In the Padres' rematch with Wood, the two sides remained civil. The only drilling originated from the batter's box. Chris Taylor went yard for the Dodgers, but Pirela and teammate Erick Aybar also homered as the Padres won, 6-4, and claimed their first series victory against Los Angeles in 2017.
Right-hander Jhoulys Chacin outdueled Wood, interrupting a recent trend of imprecision to work seven innings. Wood, on the other hand, rued a spate of missed targets.
It began in the bottom of the first, with Pirela drawing a two-out walk and advancing to third on a Wil Myers single. When Myers took off for second on a stolen-base attempt, Wood already was into his delivery toward home plate. A wild pitch eluded Yasmani Grandal as Pirela dashed in to score, punctuating his slide with an emphatic clap of his hands.
Given a 1-0 lead, Chacin completed a perfect turn through the Dodgers' order. Taylor disrupted his rhythm with a leadoff blast in the fourth. Curtis Granderson reached second on a throwing error despite a valiant attempt by catcher Austin Hedges to prevent the ball from going into the home dugout. Justin Turner cranked a ground-rule double, putting the visitors ahead by a run.
Chacin retired the next three batters to prevent further damage. He applauded a running catch by Pirela, who has shown steady improvement as a left fielder.
The Padres mustered a swift response. Matt Szczur opened the bottom of the fourth with a double. Aybar, recently returned from the disabled list and making a second consecutive start at shortstop, parked a two-run homer in the left-field seats.
Already a contributor on the basepaths and in the field, Pirela reinforced his offensive reputation in the fifth. The 27-year-old pummeled an 0-1 fastball from Wood, launching a solo shot to left. The home run was Pirela's 10th since the Padres promoted him from Triple-A in June.
The Dodgers trimmed their deficit in the seventh, though they received some assistance. Padres center fielder Manuel Margot slid short of a shallow fly ball, leading to a bloop triple. Grandal capitalized with a sacrifice fly. Two more baserunners were stranded when third baseman Yangervis Solarte turned a chopper into a double play.
Margot and Carlos Asuaje opened the bottom of the inning with consecutive singles. Pirela walked, loading the bases and reaching for the fourth time in as many plate appearances. Up next, Myers added insurance, driving in two runs with his third single of the afternoon.
Chacin, who had walked at least three batters in each of his previous five starts, didn't issue a single free pass. He struck out eight Dodgers while limiting them to three runs, two earned.
Padres closer Brad Hand, who surrendered a tying homer to Turner on Saturday, yielded a solo shot to Cody Bellinger in the ninth. Aside from an infield single by Yasiel Puig, the rest of the inning was devoid of drama. Austin Barnes popped out as the Padres won a third consecutive meeting with the Dodgers for the first time since 2013.
