Dodgers strike back, take nailbiter from Padres
SAN DIEGO — One space the place the Dodgers admittedly struggled final October was an absence of power in comparison with what the Padres dropped at the desk within the National League Division Series.
It’s one thing the Dodgers needed to sit and take into consideration all winter whereas additionally watching the Padres make some splashy strikes. Despite being the category of the NL West for over a decade, it felt just like the Dodgers got here into this season because the forgotten workforce within the division.
In the primary assembly between the 2 NL West rivals, it was the Padres that delivered the primary punch in entrance of a raucous dwelling crowd. But on Saturday, the Dodgers confirmed extra urgency and punched again, beating the Padres, 2-1, at Petco Park.
“I think that’s one of our strengths, is kind of going throughout this season and not getting too high, getting too low but having high expectations for ourselves,” mentioned Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann, who served as appearing supervisor whereas Dave Roberts attended his son’s faculty commencement.
The day began with Clayton Kershaw having to reply questions on a meme that was displayed on the Petco Park scoreboard after Friday’s recreation. It was a picture of Kershaw sitting within the dugout with pretend tears working down his face.
“If you don’t like it,” Kershaw mentioned, “play better.”
The Dodgers did, certainly, play higher on Saturday.
After a pair of erratic outings, Dustin May was in search of a giant bounce-back begin and the right-hander delivered with, arguably, his greatest efficiency of the season, displaying significantly better command of all his pitches in opposition to an aggressive Padres lineup.
“That guy was tough on the mound today,” mentioned Padres proper fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. “When you have a guy like that, you’ve got to play pepper with it. There’s not much you can do. If he misses something, that’s when you take advantage. But he was making good pitches from the beginning of the game.”
May set the tone early as he skipped off the mound after hanging out Juan Soto with a sinker proper on the knees. The right-hander is often animated, however there was somewhat additional gear on the mound on Saturday. May ended his night time with six strikeouts and permitting simply three hits over six scoreless innings.
“It was huge to go out and put up zeros for the guys and be able to come out with the lead and let the bullpen take over,” May mentioned. “Played really good defense. Hit the ball when we needed to and it was a really good game.”
With May and the bullpen conserving the Padres in examine, the Dodgers had been in a position to get simply sufficient offense in opposition to Blake Snell, who was strong as soon as once more in opposition to Los Angeles. Snell allowed only one hit over six innings, but it surely was a giant one, as Chris Taylor smacked a dangling changeup off the left-hander for a two-run homer within the fourth inning.
Taylor, who bought off to a different sluggish begin on the plate, has been rather more productive just lately. Over his final 5 video games, Taylor is 7-for-16 with a homer and 5 RBIs.
“I feel more comfortable in the box, more relaxed and I feel like I’m seeing the ball better,” Taylor mentioned. “Just the comfort with everything and not trying to feel for something and then having results helps too.”
Whether all sides needs to confess it or not, there was a distinct degree of depth on the sphere for a regular-season recreation being performed on May 6. It’s what everybody ought to count on over the subsequent 11 conferences between two groups which have gifted rosters. This time, it was the Dodgers’ flip to edge out an in depth one.
“The atmosphere’s really good here,” Lehmann mentioned. “It’s fun to play in. The players love it. … Today was a good day.”
