The Padres managed to keep the score close most of the night, but ultimately lost to the Dodgers 3-2 Friday during the opening matchup of a three-game series that will determine the front-runner in the National League West.
With the loss, San Diego, after a brief taste of being alone at the top, fell into a tie for the division lead with the Dodgers, who snapped a four-game losing streak. The teams now also have identical 69-53 records.
After an uneventful first inning, San Diego – which also saw their five-game win streak go by the wayside – was the first team to put numbers on the board. In the top of the second, Ramón Laureano, the outfielder sent to the Padres by Baltimore at the July 31 trade deadline, homered to left field to make the score 1-0.
It was Laureano’s 18th homer of the season and second for San Diego since being traded.
In the third inning, the Dodgers’ Michael Conforto, who had been on third, scored on a Shohei Ohtani ground ball to tie it up 1-1.
Moments later, with the bases were loaded, Mookie Betts delivered a sacrifice fly to center fielder Jackson Merrill that allowed Alex Freeland to score from third to put LA up 2-1.
In the seventh, Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández hit his 19th homer of the season, a 400-foot line drive to center field that increased the Padres deficit to 3-1.
Yuki Matsui soon replaced Jeremiah Estrada on the mound for the Friars. It was one of numerous pitching changes that took place throughout the game. Because pitcher Michael King was placed on the injured list the day before and was unable to make his scheduled start on Friday, the Padres went with a bullpen game.
Wandy Peralta opened and pitched an inning and a third before making way for Randy Vásquez in the second. Vásquez then pitched until the bottom of the sixth, when he was pulled for Estrada. Estrada also went an inning and a third before being swapped out for Matsui.
“Outside of the homer from Teoscar on Estrada, the bullpen was good and able to keep us right there,” manager Mike Shildt said.
Meanwhile, Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw, an elder statesman at age 37, pitched a full six innings for LA before being replaced by Ben Casparius.
In the eighth, East County native Alex Vesia came in for the Dodgers and gave the Padres an opening.
Almost immediately, Jose Iglesias and Jake Cronenworth were hit by pitches. After that, Vesia walked Fernando Tatis Jr., as the Padres loaded the bases without a base hit.
San Diego then cut the lead to 3-2 after Iglesias scored from third thanks to a Luis Arraez sacrifice fly to left.
This led to a pitching change for the Dodgers, with Blake Treinen replacing Vesia to face Manny Machado, who popped out to end the threat.
With LA still up by one, the Padres sent Mason Miller in for Matsui, and he held the Dodgers scoreless, striking out two, but San Diego was not able to deliver any late game magic against Alexis Diaz and Jack Dreyer, who earned his second save.
The bats at the top of the Padres’ order were quiet all night. Tatis, Arraez, Machado and Xander Bogaerts went a combined 0-for-14. Merrill, though, managed two hits.
San Diego has lost six of its first eight games against the Dodgers so far this season. LA sits one win away from clinching the season series and a potential postseason tiebreaker.
Notes: The series continues Saturday, with the game airing on San Diego’s CBS affiliate, KFMB-TV channel 8, as well as on the Padres’ television network, PADRES.TV. Dylan Cease is set to start for San Diego against lefty Blake Snell. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
