Yasiel Puig’s power drives the Dodgers past the Padres, 3-0

His helmet covered his eyes after he careened into third base, but Yasiel Puig clapped his hands and thumped his chest anyway. His Dodgers teammates rose to cheer him after his second triple in as many games, this one the decisive blow in a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

A revival from Puig, once such a dynamic force, would be a coup for this team. No conclusions can be drawn from two games. But Puig has done damage in both, with both a sudden investment in patience and the reemergence of his power stroke.

“When he gets on base and conducts those at-bats for us in the middle of the order, good things are going to happen,” Manager Dave Roberts said after his team’s second shutout in a row.

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The offense failed to replicate Monday’s 15-run bombardment. But a three-run rally in the fourth inning placed enough space between the two teams, and Scott Kazmir spun six one-hit innings in his Dodgers debut.

Kazmire retired the last 17 batters he faced. The sole blemish on his line was a single in the first inning. He struck out five. The Padres could not advance a runner past first base all night.

Kazmir turned up after Zack Greinke fled to Arizona and Hisashi Iwakuma failed his physical. As a consolation prize, you could do worse. Kazmir has averaged 177 innings per season with a 3.54 ERA since 2013, all while pitching in the American League.

Roberts removed Kazmir after only 75 pitches. He wanted Pedro Baez, Chris Hatcher and Kenley Jansen all to get work. The relief trio combined for six strikeouts.

“I did want to stay in the game,” Kazmir said. “But I understood the situation.” The relievers, he added, “really shut the door. It’s awesome to see when you’re a starter, and you come out of the game, to see those guys come in and punch tickets.”

Kazmir dueled with James Shields, his teammate for four years in Tampa Bay. The Dodgers dented him in the fourth with well-placed hits, a misplay by San Diego center fielder Jon Jay and a display of brio by Puig.

The sequence started when rookie Corey Seager hit a single up the middle. After former Dodger Matt Kemp flagged down a shot to right by Justin Turner, saving an extra-base hit, Jay retreated in pursuit of a drive off Adrian Gonzalez’s bat.

The ball was smoked, and Jay sprinted to find it. When he turned around, he learned the error of his route. The double landed to his right, a few feet away from his dive. Seager held at third base for Puig.

In his first at-bat, two innings prior, Puig demonstrated some restraint. He worked a walk and sprinted to first base. This time, he held off on a 1-2 cutter that nearly caught the inner part of the plate. He hammered the next pitch, a 93-mph fastball at the thighs, over Jay’s head.

“He was trying to stay back on his pitches,” said team official Jesus Quinonez, who interpreted for Puig. “He was trying not to go with what they’re trying to get him with.”

With Puig at third, the Padres shifted their infielders toward the edge of the grass. Carl Crawford defused the strategy by shooting a ground ball between the shortstop and the third baseman. Shields saw the ball roll into left field and hung his head. “I found the hole,” Crawford said.

The bats went quiet from there. No Dodger collected a hit after a double by Seager in the fifth.

A day after Clayton Kershaw struck out nine in seven scoreless innings, Kazmir offered a credible second act. He relied upon weak contact through the first three innings. In his final three, he missed bats with more frequency.

Kazmir ended the fourth inning by pumping a cutter past first baseman Wil Myers. He fanned Melvin Upton, Jr., in the sixth with a 91-mph fastball. His final pitch of the evening was a 90-mph fastball at the knees. Jay swung and missed.

“He got a lot of guys out in front with the changeup,” Roberts said. “And then he sped them up with the cutter or the fastball. Those guys were guessing.”

Kazmir returned to the dugout and did not reemerge. He was not suffering from any physical ailment, Roberts said. But the manager wanted to keep his bullpen fresh. He also understood the benefit of an early exit for a starting pitcher.

Like almost all pitchers, Kazmir becomes more hittable as opponents see him more often. The first time through the order in 2015, he held hitters to a .634 on-base plus slugging percentage. The second time? A .640 OPS. But in the third turn, the opponents punched up a more dangerous .787 OPS.

So Kazmir watched as Roberts opened his bullpen. The final third of the game was a breeze.

“We couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Roberts said.

Follow Andy McCullough on Twitter @McCulloughTimes.

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