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LOS ANGELES The Dodgers offense is still not running at full speed.
Two were all they needed on Saturday night.
Mookie Betts’ three-run homerun against Craig Stammen in the fifth inning propelled the Dodgers to a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres in front of an announced crowd of 46,969 at Dodger Stadium.
Betts and Gavin Lux went 4 for 5. The rest of the Dodgers went 0 for 20. But they provided enough support for starter Walker Buehler, who only allowed Fernando Tatís Jr. before the Dodgers pen blocks the team. 90th victory of the season.
The Dodgers (90-53) remain two and a half games away from the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. They can complete a three-game sweep against the Padres (74-67) with a win in the series final on Sunday.
Betts’ 20th home run of the season broke a 2-2 tie and came on the heels of a single from Lux and a walk from Buehler. It marked the end of the road for Padres starter Chris Paddack (7-7). Enter Stammen, who left a fastball in the middle of the plate on her first pitch at Betts, only to see it leave the park a moment later.
San Diego had two runs in the eighth inning against Blake Treinen, who faced four batters but recorded just one out.
With a runner on third base and one out, right-hander Joe Kelly relieved Treinen and struck out Wil Myers and Tommy Pham on strikes to end the set.
Pitcher for the third consecutive day, Kenley Jansen threw a scoreless ninth inning to record his 32nd save of the season.
The Dodgers used their low roster to score a few runs in the third inning, something missing in their offensive offense for much of the past month.
Cody Bellinger, mired in a one-season slump, plotted a march. The next batter was Gavin Lux, who made his second straight start from left field. With the Padres moved, Lux lined up a fastball on a vacant left side of the infield. Tommy Pham passed the ball into left field, allowing Bellinger to score all the way from first base.
Lux finished second on Pham’s foul, took third on a sacrifice from Buehler and scored on a sacrifice volley from Betts. The Dodgers led 2-0.
Buehler pitched seven innings and allowed two runs, getting help from his defense along the way.
After a Tatís single, second baseman Trea Turner started a 4-6-3 double play in the second set. Turner almost threw another murder of twins in the fifth after Chris Paddack walked.
In the sixth inning, Cody Bellinger almost knocked out Manny Machado while trying to convert a single into a double; the original “out” call was overturned when the Padres contested the call. On the 96th and final pitch of Buehler’s game, Betts intercepted a downline near the right field line to end the seventh inning and block a runner on second base.
Buehler allowed six hits and walked two batters. With one exception, he made shots when he needed to.
In the third inning, Buehler threw Machado a first throw slider over the plate; the former Dodger lined up the ball on the left side of the infield for a single. Buehler started next hitter Tatís with a slider over the plate as well. This ball came to rest about 400 feet from home plate above the center court fence. National League leader Tatís’ 38th home run of the season tied the score at 2.
Tatís took the shortstop for the first time since July 30, when he suffered a partial dislocation of his left shoulder. He had been playing exclusively in the outfield since returning from the injured list.
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