Greinke, Dodgers top Padres 2-1 to clinch home field in NLDS

Zack Greinke earned the NL ERA title and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 2-1 Saturday night to clinch home-field advantage in their upcoming playoff series against the New York Mets.

The Dodgers’ win combined with Washington’s doubleheader sweep of the Mets (89-72) ensured Los Angeles (91-70) will open the Division Series at home Friday against New York starter Jacob deGrom.

Greinke (19-3) allowed one run and four hits in eight innings to conclude the regular season with a 1.66 ERA, beating out Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, who finished at 1.77. Arrieta tossed a no-hitter against the Dodgers in August.

Greinke had the lowest ERA by a qualifying pitcher since Greg Maddux’s mark of 1.63 for Atlanta in 1995. It is the lowest for a Dodgers pitcher since Rube Marquard’s 1.58 in 1916.

The right-hander earned the second ERA title of his career; his first was with Kansas City in 2009, when he won the AL Cy Young Award.

Greinke struck out eight, giving him 200 for the season and marking the fifth time in his career he reached that mark. He became the fifth pitcher since 1956 to record 200 or more strikeouts with an ERA of 1.70 or lower. He walked one.

Kenley Jansen allowed the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base with one out in the ninth when Jedd Gyorko singled and then Jansen hit Brett Wallace with a pitch. Jansen retired Alexi Amarista and Austin Hedges on consecutive flyouts to earn his 36th save in 38 chances.

Padres starter Robbie Erlin (1-2) gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings while auditioning for a spot in next year’s rotation. The left-hander struck out four and walked none.

Los Angeles extended its lead to 2-1 in the fourth when Adrian Gonzalez grounded into a double play, scoring Howie Kendrick, who singled leading off. Justin Turner homered with two outs in the first for the Dodgers’ first run.

Austin Hedges homered in the fifth for the Padres.

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Padres: Frank Garces (0-0, 5.00 ERA) allowed one hit and had one strikeout in one inning against Milwaukee on Wednesday. Scheduled starter James Shields was shut down for the season so the team could evaluate its bullpen.

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.16) makes his final regular-season start while taking aim at reaching 300 strikeouts.

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