Adrian Gonzalez vs. Padres: Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction to 3-HR Night

Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is starting off the 2015 MLB season with a bang against the San Diego Padres.

After hitting home runs in each of the first two games of their series, Gonzalez teed off for three solo shots off his former franchise and hometown team Wednesday evening.

Bleacher Report noted the significance of Gonzalez's sensational display of power in the Dodgers' 7-4 victory:

ESPN Stats & Info added more context to the 32-year-old veteran's historic hitting:

Dodgers pitcher Brett Anderson had a simple yet effective statement on Gonzalez after the game.

"Adrian Gonzalez is really good at hitting baseballs," said Anderson, per his Twitter account.

San Diego had an anemic offense last year but tacked two runs on the board Wednesday in the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Pitcher Andrew Cashner retired the first two batters he faced before Gonzalez took him yard:

The home team used that dinger as a springboard in the second, scoring three runs to grab a 4-2 advantage. Only a baserunning blunder by Dodgers star Yasiel Puig prevented Gonzalez from coming to the dish with men aboard.

In the bottom of the third, Gonzalez stepped to the dish again, proceeding to tear the cover off a 1-0 Cashner offering—more of a screaming liner than a high-flying ball that just cleared the glove of Padres right fielder Matt Kemp.

The score remained 5-2 for the next frame. When the top of the order came back around for LA in the fourth, Cashner fortuitously retired the side in what was his only hitless inning of the night.

Gonzalez then had Cashner's number once again in the fifth, blasting another bomb into the bleachers to put the Dodgers up 6-2:

Although Cashner notched three strikeouts to get out of the fifth, he was ultimately chased thereafter, needing 97 pitches to get through just five innings.

Following the third homer, SportsNation made a crafty Fantastic Four reference to describe Gonzalez's brilliance:

CBS Sports had a funny photo to capture the mood of how Gonzalez made it look so easy:

Maybe Gonzalez just needs all of his teammates in the dugout to hit it yard, because he singled with two aboard in the sixth.

Despite the home run streak ending, Gonzalez still had an RBI off of his base hit. Justin Turner scored to stretch LA's lead to 7-4 to answer the Padres' two-run surge in the top of the inning.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times observed how San Diego's defense moved to account for Gonzalez's pull—a tactic that he rendered ineffective:

It is still very early in the year, but Gonzalez's torrid form is a great sign for a team that's won the National League West title the past two seasons without a World Series appearance to show for its efforts.

The 162-game grind is long. There will be numerous peaks and valleys. What's most promising about Gonzalez's incredible start is he's so locked in already. Excitement to play again may be a factor, yet it'd be easy to be a bit rusty or lethargic at the current stage of the 2015 campaign.

Dodgers fans have to be ecstatic about the way Gonzalez is taking charge. If his teammates can feed off that buzz, LA will be even harder to dethrone atop its division.