Slammed Diego.
These pesky rivals from down south staggered away from their weekend keep at Dodger Stadium Sunday with spirits bruised, egos bloodied and Manny Machado flattened.
Canned Diego.
Arriving right here shortly after stealing first place, little brother spent the following three days giving it again to a Dodger group that met the second whereas the Padres recoiled from it.
Fanned Diego.
It was a sweeping sweep of a sweep, the Dodgers successful their third consecutive sport from the Padres Sunday by a 5-4 margin that doesn’t start to elucidate the distinction between these two groups.
The Dodgers now lead the Nationwide League West by two video games, nevertheless it seems like 20. Each groups have 38 video games remaining within the season, together with three subsequent weekend in San Diego, however any kind of actual problem by the Padres feels fabricated.
The Dodgers are the deeper group. The Dodgers are the extra targeted group. The Dodgers are the higher group.
The ultimate weekend blow was an eighth-inning, game-winning drive into the left-field pavilion by Mookie Betts, however this collection wasn’t almost that shut.
The Dodgers did every part proper, and the Padres did every part dumb.
The Dodgers charged, and the Padres choked.
“Didn’t play as well as we’d like to have, and the series didn’t go like we wanted it to,” Padres supervisor Mike Shildt mentioned. “But … this team is more than in a great place.”
That may nonetheless at present be second place, which, after this weekend, looks as if an applicable spot.
In the meantime, for one of many few stretches on this curious summer time, the Dodgers behaved just like the first-place tenants they’re.
“I don’t think anyone in that clubhouse doubted our abilities and how good we can be,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “Honestly, it was just good to play a really good series, start to finish.”
Really, from begin to end. The injury-prone Dodgers starters allowed simply three runs in 17 innings, the much-maligned Dodger bullpen completed with simply three allowed runs in 10 innings, and the Padres have been dangerous sufficient that nothing else mattered.
On Friday, Machado gave the Dodgers a run when he botched a bunt, and later rapidly popped out on the primary pitch within the eighth inning with two out and the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
On Saturday, the Padres have been thrown out trying to steal 3 times within the first two innings whereas heart fielder Jackson Merrill added to the insanity by dropping a fly ball that value them two runs.
Then on Sunday, the Padres outhit the Dodgers 10-6 however couldn’t get out of their very own means lengthy sufficient to ever pose an actual risk.
Within the third inning, Freddy Fermín bumped into an out on a single to right-center, Andy Pages nailing him by a mile. Then, with a runner on third and two out, Machado swung on the second pitch and grounded out to first.
Two innings later, Machado stranded two extra runners with a groundout, however his humiliation was simply starting. Within the seventh, Machado threw his bat and walked towards first on a strike name. After sheepishly returning to residence plate amid a taunting roar from the hostile Dodger Stadium crowd, he flied out with a runner on second.
San Diego’s Manny Machado reacts to a referred to as strike within the seventh inning Sunday towards the Dodgers.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Occasions)
Machado wasn’t achieved but. Appropriately, he was the ultimate out of the sport, swinging wildly at an Alex Vesia fastball for a strikeout on a foul tip that left the previous Dodger one for 12 for the weekend.
“We can blink, and I’m pretty confident within a week or so, we’ll be talking and be like, ‘Man, Manny’s got eight RBIs in the last five days,’ so we’re not concerned about it,” mentioned Shildt, who claimed his star was stung by dangerous calls by residence plate umpire Jeremie Rehak. “Unfortunately, some pitches that are outside the strike zone got called on him. Which, again, is unfortunate when they’re not trying to throw strikes all the time to him. They’re taking their chances and to get rewarded on balls that are outside the zone is a little frustrating.”
Earlier than the collection, within the wake of 4 consecutive dispiriting losses, Roberts referred to as on his group to point out extra focus and urgency. Their ultimate reply, on a day they might have simply shrugged off after successful the primary two video games of the collection, got here rapidly and dramatically.
Tyler Glasnow, pitching in his largest sport as a Dodger, struck out three within the high of the primary en path to eight strikeouts in 5 innings.
Freddie Freeman, proper, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani after hitting a three-run residence run within the first inning Sunday towards the Padres.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Occasions)
Then, within the backside of the primary towards the Padres’ Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani singled, Betts walked and Freddie Freeman blasted a house run over the right-center area fence. One out later, Pages homered to left and the tone had been set.
“I think we all know who we are in here, in this team and how good we can be,” mentioned Freeman. “We just gotta play good baseball like we did this weekend … we know who we are inside. And gotta keep it going.”
Roberts was pretty much as good as any of them, doing a masterful job all weekend dealing with his outmanned bullpen, succeeding once more Sunday by listening to his most dependable reliever.
After ending up an eighth inning throughout which the Padres tied the sport on a Jose Iglesias grounder, Vesia was promptly instructed he was achieved for the day, as Justin Wrobleski was scheduled to pitch the ninth.
However Vesia had a greater concept. He instructed Roberts he needed the ball if the Dodgers took the lead within the eighth, and when Betts homered, Vesia was prepared.
“So I told Doc, I walked up to him and said, ‘Hey, like, if we’re up, I want it.’” Vesia recalled. “He was like, ‘OK, you got it.’ Sure enough, Mook, bang, homers. Sweet, let’s go.”
Candy certainly. Vesia’s hitless ninth was symbolic of a bullpen that spent the weekend making each huge pitch … whereas the Padres missed each huge pitch.
“It’s the dawg, right?” mentioned Vesia. “We still have that. That doesn’t just go away. Every single one of us, we’re leaning on each other. And we know as a group how good we are.”
So, too, do the Padres.
Performed Diego.
