SAN DIEGO — 5 days in the past, the Dodgers lastly gave the impression to be constructing some late-season momentum.
Within the span of per week, nevertheless, they’ve as soon as once more squandered any actual ahead progress.
Coming off a sweep of the San Diego Padres at dwelling final weekend, the Dodgers seemed to be in sturdy place for the stretch run. They’d constructed a two-game lead within the Nationwide League West. That they had the last-place Colorado Rockies up subsequent on the schedule. And even with a visit to San Diego looming after that, they had been primed to doubtlessly take a stranglehold within the standings.
As a substitute, the workforce cut up its four-game set in Denver, giving a recreation again to the Padres whereas San Diego took three of 4 from the San Francisco Giants in the identical span.
Then, in Friday’s series-opener at Petco Park, the Padres punched again in a rivalry the Dodgers had owned for many of this season, profitable 2-1 to attract even for first place within the Nationwide League West.
“I think when you’re in it, you don’t really have the time to think about disappointment and what could’ve been,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned of so rapidly squandering a division lead they labored so onerous final weekend to construct.
“You’ve got to just go out there and deal with what’s going on right now. We’re tied in the standings and we’ve got to win a game tomorrow. There’s just no other way to look at it.”
Earlier than Friday, beating the Padres (73-56) was the one factor this 12 months’s underwhelming Dodgers workforce had persistently carried out nicely. That they had taken eight of the earlier 10 matchups. Their sweep at Dodger Stadium final week felt like a press release, one which seemed to have the membership poised to interrupt out of an prolonged summer season funk.
However after a disappointing week towards the Rockies, the Dodgers (73-56) as soon as once more fell flat in entrance of a sold-out Petco Park crowd. They managed simply three hits, and just one earlier than a failed rally within the high of the ninth inning. They obtained seven productive innings out of Blake Snell, but couldn’t get him off the hook for a standings-swinging loss.
“It’s hard for us, not giving him the support he deserved,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández mentioned. “But it’s baseball. He threw the ball really good today. We didn’t get the job done.”
Rookie infielder Alex Freeland hit his first profession dwelling run within the third inning, opening the scoring on a dangling sweeper from Yu Darvish. However after that, the veteran Japanese right-hander went on the assault, retiring 10 of the ultimate 11 batters he confronted in a dominant six-inning, one-walk, five-strikeout begin.
“It’s just one of those days you just tip your cap,” Hernández mentioned of Darvish, who saved the Dodgers guessing together with his unpredictable seven-pitch repertoire. “You don’t know where to look. You don’t know what pitches to look for. He was using all the pitches today. Hitting the spot, corners really good with all of it.”
Snell, in the meantime, began sturdy in his first outing at Petco Park since leaving the Padres on the finish of 2023. By means of three innings, he had silenced his former membership beneath a barrage of curveballs, changeups and sliders, exhibiting extra progress in his fourth begin again from a three-month shoulder harm.
Dodgers beginning pitcher Blake Snell delivers through the first inning Friday towards the Padres.
(Orlando Ramirez / Related Press)
“I thought Blake was fantastic tonight,” Roberts mentioned of Snell, who left the ballpark instantly after the sport for the start of his second little one. “Just a really stellar performance.”
A turning level, nevertheless, arose on the finish of the third.
With Ramón Laureano on second with two outs, Snell thought he had struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. on a curveball within the dust. Tatis and Laureano evidently thought the identical, with Tatis briefly beginning towards the dugout and Laureano strolling casually off second. However at first base, umpire Chris Guccione dominated that Tatis checked his swing. The play was nonetheless reside. And catcher Will Smith alertly threw to 3rd, the place Laureano was frolicked to dry.
That may have ended the inning. However it additionally meant Tatis was again on the plate to start the fourth. This time, the Padres star managed to work a stroll from what began as an 0-2 rely. And from there, the house aspect constructed a rally.
Luis Arráez executed a sacrifice bunt (one in every of three the Padres executed in an obvious pre-determined recreation plan). Manny Machado adopted with an RBI single. Ryan O’Hearn moved him to 3rd with one other base hit. Xander Bogaerts then flipped the rating with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.
“We have a lot of different styles. … We can beat the other team in a lot of different ways,” Padres supervisor Mike Shildt mentioned. “Tonight, it was more of an old-fashioned recipe.”
Snell was glorious the remainder of the way in which, finishing seven innings for the primary time in his Dodgers profession with six hits, two walks and 5 strikeouts.
Alas, it didn’t matter.
As a result of even after Darvish left the sport, the Dodgers’ offense couldn’t claw again.
Their greatest alternative got here within the eighth, when hard-throwing Padres deadline acquisition Mason Miller walked Michael Conforto and Freeland to create a jam. With one out, nevertheless, Dalton Speeding got here to the plate as a pinch-hitter, rolled a floor ball on a 101-mph fastball to the precise aspect, and couldn’t get to first in time to beat out a double play (he was initially referred to as secure, however a Padres problem overturned the decision).
The inning ended with Shohei Ohtani ready on deck. And whereas he got here as much as lead off the ninth, he watched a towering fly ball die on the warning observe.
“We were fighting,” Roberts mentioned. “Tonight was one of those things where good pitching beat good hitting.”
The Dodgers nonetheless mounted one final rally, recording their first hits since Freeland’s homer on singles from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman towards Padres nearer Robert Suarez. However with runners on the corners, Hernández struck out to finish the sport — leaving the Dodgers as soon as once more on the again foot, simply days after they’d lastly appeared to have discovered strong floor.
“Obviously, we’re fighting for the division, but this one is in the past,” Hernández mentioned. “One day you have it. Next day you don’t. You just gotta grind through it, and keep playing.”
