LOS ANGELES — The Padres are proper again the place they’ve spent the previous six months: Making an attempt to reel within the Dodgers.
Hey, they’ve finished it earlier than.
Sport 1 of this extremely anticipated Nationwide League Division Collection went to Los Angeles on Saturday. The 2 rivals staged a slugfest deep into the Southern California night time. However the Dodgers’ offense proved an excessive amount of, getting back from two early deficits because the Padres dropped the sequence opener, 7-5.
“They had been higher right now,” mentioned Fernando Tatis Jr., who went 2-for-4 with a stroll, as he continued his torrid 2024 postseason. “We could not shut the door. … Present up tomorrow and win — easy as that.”
Certainly, the Padres should punch again — and shortly. A Sport 1 loss at Dodger Stadium will not be disqualifying. If any staff ought to know that, it is this one. Two seasons in the past, San Diego additionally dropped Sport 1 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium. These Padres gained Sport 2, en path to a four-game NLDS victory.
“We have simply received to go on the market and attempt to win tomorrow,” mentioned Manny Machado, who launched a two-run, first-inning homer to provide the Padres an early lead. “We have been having that mindset all 12 months. We’ll put this one behind us, and are available again tomorrow and compete. Twenty-seven outs tomorrow.”
These 27 outs will likely be important. In Division Collection play with the present 2-2-1 format (excluding the 2020 sequence performed at impartial websites), there have been 44 earlier cases of groups splitting the primary two video games. In these 44 sequence, the membership heading residence for Video games 3 and 4 superior 29 occasions (66%).
Translation: If the Padres can earn a cut up, they will maintain an unseen edge coming again to San Diego.
However first, they should discover a method to remedy this Dodgers offense.
Dylan Stop couldn’t do this on Saturday night time. He surrendered 5 runs throughout 3 1/3 innings during which he allowed six hits, two walks and Shohei Ohtani’s game-tying three-run homer within the second.
“I simply did not execute effectively, and I by no means discovered a rhythm,” Stop mentioned. “I’ve received a pair days to prep, and hopefully one other shot. Nevertheless it’s positively disappointing. … It is positively received to be higher.”
The Padres grabbed an early three-run lead, courtesy of Machado’s homer — which quieted the Dodger Stadium crowd and moved him previous Tony Gwynn for the franchise postseason RBI lead. However Ohtani woke that crowd up an inning later when Stop left a 2-1 fastball on the high of the strike zone. Ohtani turned on it and launched it to the right-field seats.
Afterward, Stop didn’t appear to lament the pitch an excessive amount of. He merely tipped his cap to Ohtani, saying, “Clearly, he’s an awesome hitter.”
Stop was extra perturbed along with his dealing with of the fourth inning. After Ohtani’s homer, the Padres grabbed the lead proper again on Xander Bogaerts’ two-run double. Stop had thrown 72 pitches via a laborious first three innings. However he held a two-run lead and would face the underside of the Dodgers’ order.
Stop recorded the primary out, then surrendered singles to Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers’ 8 and 9 hitters.
“That sort of killed me proper there,” Stop mentioned.
His night time was finished, and the Padres handed the ball to Adrian Morejon, who allowed a broken-bat single to Ohtani to load the bases, then a wild pitch that plated the Dodgers’ fourth run. With first base now open, Padres supervisor Mike Shildt made the uncommon resolution to deliberately stroll Betts — regardless of his having two strikes.
It loaded the bases once more and practically labored. First baseman Donovan Solano received the second out on a detailed play on the plate, earlier than Morejon gave method to righty Jeremiah Estrada. Teoscar Hernández gave the Dodgers the lead with a two-run single to middle — inches from the outstretched glove of Jackson Merrill.
“Robust play, however you’ve received to play the sport [situation],” Merrill mentioned. “We had been up one at that time, bases loaded. I’d somewhat not dive for a ball, let it go previous me and let the bases clear.”
The Dodgers had their first lead of the night time and wouldn’t relinquish it, regardless of the Padres placing the tying runs on base in each the eighth and ninth innings. Machado struck out towards a tiring Blake Treinen (who recorded a five-out save) to finish the sport — one other Padres-Dodgers thriller.
“It has been like that every one 12 months,” Machado mentioned. “No shock. Again-and-forth battle all 12 months. It continued into right now. … We have simply received to maintain doing what we’re doing, transfer on to tomorrow.”