SAN DIEGO — It took 17 innings, nearly six hours and pretty much everyone on the roster for Yasiel Puig and the Los Angeles Dodgers to beat the San Diego Padres 9-5 on Sunday.
Eight innings after committing a baserunning gaffe that probably cost the Dodgers a run, Puig hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with the bases loaded and one out in the 17th inning to help the Dodgers snap a four-game losing streak.
“The infield was playing in so I had to put the ball in play,” Puig said through an interpreter. “I had to do something to help my team, especially after the baserunning I did, when I didn’t run, when Ellis hit the bunt, and I was able to make up for it.”
In the ninth, Puig hit a leadoff single against Fernando Rodney and took second on a wild pitch. A.J. Ellis bunted, but Puig didn’t take third, even though it was open because Yangervis Solarte fielded the bunt. Ellis raised his arms in frustration after seeing that Puig didn’t advance. Crawford lifted a fly ball to shallow left that might have brought in Puig.
“I got confused,” Puig said. “I just didn’t run. That’s it.”
Manager Dave Roberts said he was “shocked” when Puig didn’t run.
“A.J. squared early and in that situation, everyone in the ballpark knew what was going to happen,” Roberts said. “He executed and made the third baseman field the baseball, so after you see the execution, you’re waiting for the baserunner to advance and it didn’t happen, so I was shocked.
“There was no sign,” Roberts said. “The ball’s just in front of you and you see it.”
Had Roberts talked to Puig about it?
“We’re still enjoying this moment so I haven’t had a chance to revisit the moment,” he said.
The game started in afternoon sunshine and ended at dusk, taking 5 hours, 47 minutes.
Dodgers reliever Chin-Hui Tsao wasn’t available a night after walking in the winning run in the 11th inning.
Everyone else was. Ross Stripling (2-3), scheduled to start Tuesday night against Cincinnati, pitched three innings for the win. Clayton Kershaw pinch hit in the 15th.
Had the game gone another inning, Roberts said Puig might have pitched.
“I asked 24 players to give a little bit more today, and they all did. This is special. It really is,” Roberts said.
Plate umpire David Rackley left the game in the fifth after getting hit in the groin by a foul bunt attempt by Pederson. Rackley collapsed, was down for about 5 minutes and was tended to by a Padres trainer. He had to be helped to his feet before leaving the field under his own power. Rackley handed a ball to a kid on his way to the tunnel.
Alfonso Marquez went into the umpires’ room to change into his gear and moved from second base to the plate. The game resumed after a 15-minute delay.
The Dodgers started the four-run rally in the 17th off rookie Luis Perdomo when Howie Kendrick hit a leadoff double that bounced over the wall in right-centre field. Adrian Gonzalez was intentionally walked and Stripling advanced them with a groundout. Joc Pederson was intentionally walked to load the bases, and then Puig singled up the middle. Pederson scored on a wild pitch and Carl Crawford hit an RBI grounder.
Perdomo (1-1) was the hard-luck loser after pitching five innings.
“He pitched really, really well,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “He didn’t deserve that fate. It would have been nice if we had scratched one across. That’s a really tough gig for a young guy to come in.”
The Dodgers erased a 4-0 deficit, getting a tying homer from Justin Turner in the seventh and then a shot from Kendrick leading off the eighth for a 5-4 lead.
Kenta Maeda allowed four runs and four hits in five innings, struck out five and walked one.
Colin Rea allowed three runs and three hits in five-plus, struck out three and walked two.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: X-rays on C Yasmani Grandal‘s ankle Saturday night were negative. He fouled a ball off the inside of his foot. Grandal struck out as a pinch-hitter in the 11th on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (6-1, 1.57) is scheduled to start the opener of a three-game home series against Cincinnati, which will counter with LHP Brandon Finnegan (1-2, 4.44).
Padres: LHP Drew Pomeranz (4-4, 1.96) will pitch Monday night’s opener in a three-game series at San Francisco against Johnny Cueto (6-1, 2.70). The Giants swept the Padres last week for the second time this season.
