Chris Taylor’s glove helps Dodgers blank Padres

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LOS ANGELES ― Not agelong ago, you could clasp up Chris Taylor’s play astatine conscionable the close space and spot the Most Valuable Player of the Dodgers, if not the full National League.

Much tin alteration successful small much than a month. Since Aug. 2, Taylor’s on-base positive slugging percent has fallen astir 100 points. He’s routinely batted sixth oregon seventh successful the batting order. As the bottommost of the Dodgers’ lineup fell connected hard times, Taylor’s bat was much often portion of the occupation than the solution.

All the Dodgers needed Friday was Taylor’s glove.

Taylor prevented Manny Machado from hitting a two-run location tally with a leaping drawback successful halfway tract successful the 5th inning. In the 4th inning, Taylor dove to drawback a Wil Myers alert shot successful the left-center tract gap. In the bottommost of the fourth, Taylor drove successful a tally with a sacrifice fly, completing the scoring successful a 3-0 triumph implicit the San Diego Padres.

A two-run location tally by Max Muncy got the Dodgers connected the committee successful the 3rd inning against Joe Musgrove. Taylor’s champion efforts helped Julio Urías (17-3), Blake Treinen and Kenley Jansen harvester connected the Dodgers’ 16th shutout of the season.

The Dodgers (89-53) snapped a two-game losing streak and kept gait with the first-place San Francisco Giants (91-50), who person won 5 games successful a enactment to widen their pb successful the National League West to 2½ games.

The Padres (74-66) person go a specter successful the playoff picture. They person mislaid 4 consecutive games to the Dodgers, each since the All-Star break, aft winning the erstwhile 4 head-to-head contests.

Urías became the archetypal MLB pitcher to 17 wins by limiting San Diego to 3 hits successful 7 innings. He deed 2 batters and issued 1 locomotion portion striking retired seven. His ERA fell to 2.98.

On his 94th transportation of the evening, Urías got pinch hitter Tommy Pham to alert retired to halfway tract to extremity the seventh inning. It was the deepest Urías had pitched into a crippled since July 21.

Muncy’s location tally was his 32nd of the season, tied for 3rd successful the National League.

Jansen’s prevention was his 10th successful a enactment and his 31st overall, tied for 2nd successful the NL.

The Dodgers collected lone 4 hits to the Padres’ three, but they made them count. Mookie Betts singled disconnected Musgrove conscionable earlier Muncy pummeled a 91-mph cutter astatine the loop 428 feet to close field.

In the 4th inning, Will Smith doubled and went to 3rd basal connected a chaotic transportation by Musgrove. Taylor’s high-arcing alert shot to near tract was heavy capable for Smith to tag up and people with comparative ease.

Taylor’s 72 RBIs this play way lone Muncy and Justin Turner among the squad leaders.

More to travel connected this story.

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