LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Chris Capuano was thankful for the opportunity to get a chance to start again for the Los Angeles Dodgers, albeit under trying circumstances 鈥� the loss of $147-million right-hander Zack Greinke for two months.
But Capuano lasted only two-plus innings Tuesday night against San Diego and threw 43 pitches before coming out with a strained left calf. By then, the Padres had scored four runs 鈥� more than enough for Jason Marquis to beat the Dodgers 9-2 for his first victory of the season.
Greinke's collarbone was broken during a bench-clearing brawl with the Padres in San Diego last Thursday, after he hit Carlos Quentin with a pitch. Quentin, who charged the mound, served the third game of his eight-game suspension.
Capuano made two appearances during his stint in the bullpen, facing 11 batters in 2 2-3 innings and striking out four. But the Padres jumped on the left-hander for five hits during a 27-pitch first inning that included an RBI single by Alonzo, a bases-loaded walk to Hundley and a two-run single by Alexi Amarista. It ended when Capuano took the toss at first baseman from Adrian Gonzalez on a grounder by Marquis.
One inning later, Capuano took another flip from Gonzalez on a grounder by Alonzo for the third out 鈥� but hit the bag hard with his right foot and started hopping around before returning to the dugout.
After Capuano began the third with a walk to Jesus Guzman, manager Don Mattingly replaced him by Matt Guerrier. One out later, Kyle Blanks doubled over the head of centre fielder Matt Kemp and Hundley followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
"I came in after the second inning, taped it up real tight and tried to brace that ankle," Capuano said. "I felt like I could sit back on it and push off, but it was pretty obvious I wasn't driving off that leg the way I needed to. The ball just wasn't coming out right. I wanted to stay out there. I knew we needed innings, but I think we made the right decision. It was hurting. But it's just a strain."
If Capuano is out for a while, Mattingly may be able to use left-hander Ted Lilly, who is close to coming off the disabled list. Lilly made his third rehab outing for Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday night at Lake Elsinore, giving up four runs and seven hits over five innings with five strikeouts.
"I guess we'll find out how bad tomorrow, with the MRI or whatever, and try to make a decision from there," Mattingly said. "The one positive is we're probably not needing that fifth starter again until the 24th."
Marquis pitched three-hit ball over 7 2-3 innings and Amarista tied a career high with four RBIs, helping hand the Dodgers their third straight loss.
"It's always nice to get the first win out of the way," Marquis said.
Marquis (1-1) allowed his only run on Mark Ellis' bases-loaded sacrifice fly and struck out five on a chilly night in which the flags in centre field were blowing straight out toward right for most of the game. The 34-year-old right-hander had double digits in wins for six straight seasons 鈥� but not since 2009, when he tied a career-best with 15 for Colorado.
Nick Hundley and Yonder Alonso each had two RBIs, helping the Padres win their second straight over Los Angeles after a 2-10 start and handing the Dodgers their third straight loss.
Amarista, who had only two RBIs in 34 at-bats this season entering Tuesday, extended San Diego's lead to 6-1 in the fifth with a sacrifice fly after a two-out double by Hundley. The Padres tacked on two more in the sixth against Josh Wall, who gave up Alonso's RBI double and Jedd Gyorko's RBI single. Amarista added another RBI single in the ninth off Brandon League.
The Dodgers' other run came on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth by pinch-hitter Nick Punto against Andrew Cashner. Gonzalez was 0 for 4, ending his 13-game hitting streak against his former team. It was the first time he went hitless against the Padres since they traded him to Boston in December 2010.
NOTES: Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for the Dodgers in Wednesday night's series finale, needing one strikeout for 1,000. He has pitched 967 1-3 innings, compared to Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, another Cy Young-winning Dodgers lefty who needed 989 2-3 innings to get his 1,000th. "I like to watch Kershaw pitch because it brings back memories of Sandy," said Lou Johnson, who was Koufax's teammate for three seasons and is now a member of the Dodgers' community relations department. "I see a lot of similarities. One is the size of his hand. That has a lot to do with it. Another is he wants to be the workhorse. And they both have the same heart and killer instinct. I have said to him privately: 'Man, you pitch like another fella I know,' and he tipped his cap to me." ... The crowd of 35,898 observed a moment of silence for the second straight night in honour of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Both the left and right field scoreboards went black, and the Dodgers took the field to the song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," by the Dropkick Murphys. The flags were at half-staff, and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was played on the p.a. system as a tribute to the Boston Red Sox fans.
