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Two runs is a big night for Dodgers in win over Padres

Closer Kenley Jansen and outfielder Joc Pederson celebrate after the Dodgers' 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

Closer Kenley Jansen and outfielder Joc Pederson celebrate after the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

(Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)
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The Dodgers’ streak of scoreless innings, the historically inept stretch of baseball that spanned parts of six days and one bleak series in San Francisco, died Friday at Dodger Stadium. It was 35 innings long.

The cause of death was a toe extended by Justin Turner that touched home plate after an Andre Ethier double in the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres.

The streak had survived scares earlier in the game, when Ethier hit a ball to the warning track in the second inning and when Yasmani Grandal’s long fly ball died in front of the center-field wall in the fourth. Each time, the crowd seemed to inhale and then audibly exhale.

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But when Turner singled, took second on an error and scored on Ethier’s double, the streak expired. Joc Pederson’s home run in the eighth inning ended a three-game skid.

The streak was born Sunday in Los Angeles in the fifth inning of a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. At first, it seemed routine.

“There’s a couple to three of them a year,” Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said before Friday’s game.

But it grew to tie the Dodgers’ Los Angeles record of 35 scoreless innings, set in 1962. Only a streak of 41 innings in 1908 surpasses its longevity.

It lasted through an era of social change. In the time it took for the Dodgers to score a run, Los Angeles raised its 2020 minimum wage from $9 to $15, the Lakers jumped to No. 2 in the NBA draft and David Letterman retired.

During its time, the streak also developed into an object of mild frustration in the Dodgers’ clubhouse. It became a target, and some prescribed methods for its extermination.

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Before Friday’s game, Grandal lounged by his locker and coolly gave his advice.

“Don’t panic,” he said.

He surveyed the locker room. No one, he confirmed, was demonstrating any panic.

“Then we should be fine,” he said.

His wisdom came from experience. He learned that forcing only makes the problem worse, which could explain the Dodgers’ 29 men left on base against the Giants this week.

“Being the last two years in San Diego, we went through it a lot,” he said. “And it just seemed like you had to wait for the right moment to come.”

On Friday, at long last, the moment finally came.

Dodgers knew of Ryu’s injury

The periodic shoulder issues Hyun-Jin Ryu has suffered from since signing with the Dodgers in 2012 seemed like an unforeseeable string of bad luck, a balky arm that had to receive periodic maintenance. On Friday, Ryu revealed a more obvious concern.

His labrum was torn.

The problems began in the 2013 National League division series against the Atlanta Braves, when Ryu’s start suddenly became a cause for concern. The Dodgers held a mysterious bullpen conclave attended by Mattingly, trainer Stan Conte and team surgeon Neal ElAttrache.

Ryu pitched, but he lasted only three innings and gave up four runs, though he’d recover in the next round.

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Last season, Ryu went on the disabled list in April with what the team characterized as “shoulder inflammation.” In September, he was shut down once again with shoulder issues, and he received a cortisone shot. He finished the season with a 14-7 record and a 3.38 earned-run average.

Along the way there were MRIs, and the team and Ryu insisted they showed nothing new.

The reason, Ryu disclosed at a Friday news conference, was that the initial MRI the team commissioned before Ryu’s signing showed that his labrum was already torn. For the past two seasons, Ryu has pitched through the injury, and it culminated in his surgery Thursday.

“I knew about the tear,” Ryu said through an interpreter.

When asked when, Ryu said at the first MRI, “two years ago.”

Labrum tears are common in baseball, and many pitchers play with one. Their severity varies.

Still, in some ways, the signing echoes the $51-million deal the Dodgers gave Jason Schmidt after the 2006 season, when the team knew Schmidt had a torn rotator cuff. Schmidt pitched 41 innings and won three games.

Ryu, meanwhile, cost $62 million, including the posting fee. In return, the Dodgers have so far received 344 innings, 28 wins and an impressive postseason resume.

Ned Colletti, the general manager of the Dodgers when they signed Ryu, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

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Ryu said he hopes to be ready by spring training next year. As to whether he will return with the same effectiveness, Ryu said, simply, “I will try my best.”

zach.helfand@latimes.com

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