LOS ANGELES ― The Dodgers played down to the level of their last opponent on their most recent road trip. They had a chance to do so again on Friday night, when the Detroit Tigers visited Dodger Stadium to begin a five-game homestand.

Instead, they turned back into the Dodgers – a team that could, hit, run, field, and guarantee championships on the strength of a near-$300 million payroll. They seized an early lead en route to a 5-1 victory, halting a two-game losing streak before an announced crowd of 49,394.

Tyler Anderson (2-0) cruised through five innings to win his first game since replacing injured left-hander Andrew Heaney in the starting rotation. Chris Taylor hit his first home run of the season, a 441-foot rocket to left-center field against Tigers starter Tyler Alexander (0-3). Justin Turner also hit his first homer of 2022 for the Dodgers (13-6).

“I don’t know how much emotion plays into an outcome,” Manager Dave Roberts said, “but I think guys were a little upset after losing a series on the road, to get a day off, and stew on it.”

The Dodgers’ defense was a comedy of errors while losing two of three games to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Friday, they turned two double plays and benefitted from two stellar catches by center fielder Cody Bellinger – one coming in on a ball, one going back.

The game ended when second baseman Gavin Lux, whose shaky glovework thwarted a few routine outs against the Diamondbacks, stopped a grounder in shallow right field and threw out Austin Meadows in one motion.

Anderson allowed five hits, walked one batter and struck out three. His fastball command improved greatly over his first start of the season, six days earlier in San Diego, and helped him set up a changeup that got several swings and misses on pitches out of the zone. The veteran left-hander has a 2.55 ERA after his first four appearances.

With Heaney potentially sidelined long-term with shoulder inflammation, Anderson could get a longer runway to succeed as a member of the rotation.

“I came into this with the mindset that I’m going to do whatever’s asked of me,” said Anderson, who signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Dodgers in March. “If it means starting more, I’ll do that. If I have to come out of the ’pen and piggyback or throw long, whatever. I just want to throw meaningful innings to help us win.”

Roberts said he removed Anderson after a mere 69 pitches in part because the southpaw was having trouble commanding his changeup. Anderson said he is still seeking consistency with his new grip on the pitch, which is actually an old grip that he recommitted to this season.

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Evan Phillips, Phil Bickford, Brusdar Graterol and Reyes Moronta each threw a scoreless inning of relief. After Spencer Torkelson’s single in the fourth inning, the quartet helped retire 14 consecutive batters – a streak that ended with Javy Baez’s infield single in the ninth inning.

The Dodgers never trailed after Turner’s two-run homer cleared the left-field fence in the first inning. Taylor’s homer sailed 60 feet longer than any other fly ball hit under a heavy marine layer. The Dodgers’ other four hits, and all six of the Tigers’ hits, were singles.

Trea Turner walked and stole a base in his final plate appearance, extending his on-base streak to 38 games.

Detroit (6-13) got its only run in the third inning on an RBI single by Baez. The Tigers never got a runner past first base in the other eight innings.

“This clubhouse shows up and tries to win a game every single day, so what happened in Arizona is done and over with,” Justin Turner said. “Nothing we can do about it. We can just prepare for tonight, show up tomorrow, and prepare for tomorrow.”

Dodger Stadium erupts for a 2-run blast from JT! #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/qw9iJNPqvk

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 30, 2022

Distance on that CT3 homer? 8 Mile. pic.twitter.com/vn4f5soAkQ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 30, 2022

“It felt good to get my first one out of the way.” @redturn2 on his 2-run HR and the #Dodgers scoring in each of the first four innings of tonight’s 5-1 win. @kirsten_watson pic.twitter.com/TpePVCa9mZ

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 30, 2022

“I think guys were a little upset after losing the series on the road…I thought we came in and had good at-bats all around.” Dave Roberts with @kirsten_watson on the #Dodgers getting back on track with a 5-1 win over Detroit. pic.twitter.com/Em2LXD5BDL

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 30, 2022

Another nice start for Tyler Anderson: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K

He spoke with @kirsten_watson about his outing. pic.twitter.com/CXrVDZ55K9

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 30, 2022