Dodgers miss chance gain ground in home-field race

SAN DIEGO — The Nationals left the door wide open for the Dodgers to gain some ground Wednesday night in the race for home-field advantage in their upcoming Division Series. A pair of Padres rookies helped slam it shut.

Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot had two hits and two runs apiece, as the Padres played spoiler to their division rivals with a 6-5 victory. Dodgers starter Jose De Leon was chased after just 2 1/3 frames, in which he allowed five runs. The Padres tagged him for three in the first, before a prodigious two-run blast by Renfroe in the third.

Ultimately, Wil Myers’ fourth-inning RBI groundout proved to be the difference, after Chase Utley, Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson had all gone deep off Padres starter Luis Perdomo. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed five runs over five innings, in the final start of a captivating rookie campaign.

The Dodgers’ defeat — coupled with Washington’s rain-shortened 3-0 loss to Arizona — means the Nationals lead the home-field race by two games with four to play — although Los Angeles owns the tiebreaker.

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