LOS ANGELES -- Even though the Los Angeles Dodgers qualified for the postseason three days ago, they haven't given up trying to better their playoff position. They took another step up the ladder Friday night, beating the visiting San Diego Padres 6-2 to move ahead of the New York Mets for home-field advantage in their National League Division Series set to begin next week.
The Dodgers and Mets came into Friday with identical 89-70 records, but the Mets were rained out of their series opener against the visiting Washington Nationals, opening the door for the Dodgers to take a half-game lead.
How it happened: San Diego starter Casey Kelly gave up two walks and a single in the second inning but escaped unscathed. The Dodgers didn't let him off the hook in the third, however. Carl Crawford and Howie Kendrick delivered one-out base hits before Adrian Gonzalez followed with a third straight single, driving in Crawford for a 1-0 lead. Justin Turner then hit a slow roller to second, and Cory Spangenberg elected for a backhand flip to shortstop Jedd Gyorko covering the bag, but the toss wasn't close to Gyorko or the bag, scoring another run and leaving runners on the corners. Andre Ethier then drove in a run with a groundout to first, and Corey Seager and A.J. Ellis came through with two-out RBI singles to make it 5-0. Alex Wood took care of the rest, holding the Padres scoreless for six innings before they scratched out two runs in the seventh, his final inning of work.
What it means: The chance for home-field advantage in the NLDS surely will have the Dodgers going full throttle through at least Saturday. The Mets must play a day-night doubleheader Saturday to make up for the rainout and -- should New York get swept -- L.A. will be in position to clinch home field when Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke takes the mound. Going all out for first-round home-field advantage also presents some risk for the Dodgers, who have had a number of players nicked up lately, but everyone seemed to emerge fine Friday night. Kendrick, who missed two months with a hamstring injury over the summer, looked great hustling out a double in the fifth inning. Turner, who missed the previous two games with a bruised forearm, scored on an awkward slide in the third and got up fine. He then drove in Kendrick with a hard single over the head of center fielder Melvin Upton Jr. in the fifth.
Notable: The Dodgers were missing one of their longtime icons Friday night, while another announced her retirement. Vin Scully, who has been announcing Dodger games since 1950, missed the game with a cold and won't return until the playoffs. Nancy Bea Hefley, the organist at Dodger Stadium the past 28 years, announced her retirement before the game and was honored with a pregame ceremony.
Up next: Greinke (18-3, 1.68 ERA) likely will have all his thoughts geared toward helping the Dodgers clinch home field for the first round, but he's also in good position to sew up his second MLB ERA title. Greinke will be up against Robbie Erlin (1-1, 6.30 ERA), who threw seven scoreless innings in his last outing, a 3-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.