LOS ANGELES —
The ground gently rocked beneath Eric Lauer with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning Friday night. The crowd stirred to a roar. The 24-year-old left-hander did not stop.
Momentum, you see, is just that precious these days at Dodger Stadium.
The Padres’ second-year starter did not let go of it, either, until the Dodgers’ game-tying rally in the sixth, two innings after a 7.1 earthquake rolled through Chavez Ravine. Hunter Renfroe reclaimed it for good with an inning-ending catch in the seventh and a go-ahead homer in the eighth in a 3-2 win over the majors’ best team, snapping the Padres’ five-game skid.