SAN DIEGO, April 11 (UPI) -- Home runs by Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis staked Los Angeles to an early lead Wednesday and the Dodgers held on to down San Diego 4-3.
Chad Billingsley (1-0) gave up a lone run in the in the fourth inning and earned the victory with a five-hit performance over six innings.
Brandon League, however, made things interesting in the ninth when he allowed two runs on three hits and had runners on second and third with two away. League picked up his third save when he retired Yonder Alonso on a fly ball to left to end the game.
Crawford hit a solo shot in the opening inning and Ellis delivered a two-run homer in the second. Ellis also singled in Crawford with the final Los Angeles run in the fifth.
Los Angeles scored its four runs on 13 hits and three walks. The Dodgers wound up leaving a dozen men on base.
The loss went to Eric Stults (1-1), who gave up all four runs on eight hits in five innings.
