Dodgers gladly accept charity to beat Padres, 5-1

Andre Ethier smiled when thinking how the Dodgers won Sunday.

“It’s a funny game,” he said, shaking his head.

A dribbler off Ethier’s bat in the seventh inning turned into a three-base error by San Diego Padres reliever Nick Vincent, resulting in the last three runs the Dodgers scored in their 5-1 victory at Petco Park.

“Square it up and get out, then hit a little three-hopper down the line and somehow clear the bases,” Ethier said.

What counted to Manager Don Mattingly was that the Dodgers won, not how they won.

By winning three of the four games against the Padres, the Dodgers have won 11 of their last 13 games and are a season-best 20 games over .500.

They will have a 7 1/2-game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West as they head into the road portion of the Freeway Series, a three-game set against the Angels in Anaheim that starts Monday.

The Dodgers visited the Padres after a three-game sweep of the Giants, which made Mattingly concerned that his team could be vulnerable to a letdown. Mattingly made it a point to address the subject in a pregame meeting before the series opener in San Diego.

Mattingly was pleased with how the players responded.

“They were pretty steady,” Mattingly said. “I didn’t really feel that emotional letdown.”

They were able to do that without the benefit of Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke pitching in this series.

Mat Latos started the series opening loss, followed, by Mike Bolsinger, Alex Wood and Brett Anderson.

Anderson pitched only 5 2/3 innings Sunday, leaving in the sixth inning because of a cramp in his left calf.

Anderson, who limited the Padres to a run and four hits, sounded certain he would be able to make his next start.

The left-hander said he felt the muscle tighten when walking Derek Norris with two outs. The next batter, Wil Myers, singled to center field.

On the pitch that Myers lined into center field, Anderson said, “it just balled up and wouldn’t go away.”

Left-hander J.P. Howell replaced Anderson and got Cory Spangenberg to hit into a hard-hit groudout to end the inning and preserve the Dodgers’ 2-1 advantage. The rocket off Spangenberg’s bat deflected off third baseman Corey Seager’s glove and fell to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who was able to throw out the second baseman.

In the inning that followed, the Dodgers loaded the bases against Vincent on a two-out infield single by Justin Turner.

Up came Ethier, who hit the ball weakly up the first base line. Vincent retrieved the ball, only to send it high over Myers at first base. Rollins, Adrian Gonzalez and Turner scored to increase the Dodgers lead to 5-1. Ethier reached third base.

“When you get guys out there, you give yourself chances,” Mattingly said.

With Luis Avilan, Yimi Garcia and Pedro Baez holding the Padres scoreless over the final three innings, Anderson improved his record to 9-8.

For Anderson, the start was his 26th, his most since making 30 as a rookie in 2009.

Injuries prevented Anderson from making 20 starts in any other season.

That being the case, Anderson said he understood why his cramp led to inquiries about his medical history.

“At the end of the season, if I make 30, 32, however many starts, then I can maybe go into next year and say I got rid of that,” Anderson said. “But until then, I understand.”

With Anderson having a 3.36 earned-run average, Mattingly has often compared the left-hander’s contributions to that of Hyun-Jin Ryu in the previous two seasons.

Of how Mattingly has described him as dependable, Anderson said, “After all I’ve been through, I appreciate that. It feels good to finally have that word attached to me rather than ‘injury prone.’ Quite the contrast there. I’ll take it.”

Up next

Right-hander Zack Greinke (15-3, 1.59 ERA) will face right-hander Nick Tropeano (1-2, 5.51) and the Angels on Monday at 6 p.m. at Angel Stadium. TV: FS West, SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 830, 1020, 1330.