SAN DIEGO, California -- Seth Smith hit a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the San Diego Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball"s North American opener Sunday night.
Smith"s first hit with the Padres came on a 2-0 pitch from Brian Wilson, who started the eighth after Hyun-Jin Ryu threw seven scoreless innings. It was his seventh career pinch-hit homer. He was acquired in an offseason trade with Oakland for reliever Luke Gregerson.
Wilson (0-1) walked pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal, who advanced when the veteran reliever couldn"t handle Everth Cabrera"s bunt for an error. Grandal stole third and Cabrera took second on indifference before Denorfia hit a bouncer up the middle to bring them both in.
Dale Thayer (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the win. Huston Street finished for the save.
The defending NL West champion Dodgers had started the regular season with a two-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia.
Ryu got the start after reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw was scratched due to a swollen back muscle and then placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his seven-year career.
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