Dodgers Shut Out Padres As First-Round Bye Magic Number Falls To One
The Dodgers opened their final regular-season home series with one of their most complete victories of September.
Eight pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout, Freddie Freeman drove in three runs and Los Angeles defeated the San Diego Padres 7-0 Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
The victory improved the Dodgers to 97-60 and extended their home winning streak to 11 games. Combined with Atlanta’s 4-0 loss to Cincinnati, it also lowered the Dodgers’ magic number for securing the National League’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye to one.
One more Dodgers victory or Braves loss will send Los Angeles directly to the NLDS.
Dodgers Break Through With Four-Run Second Inning
The Dodgers gave their bullpen an early cushion by scoring four times with two outs in the second inning.
Teoscar Hernández and Josue De Paula started the rally with consecutive singles before Andy Pages was hit by a pitch in his first game back from a broken left hand.
Michael King then walked Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts with the bases loaded, forcing home the first two runs.
Freeman followed with a two-run single into center field, extending the lead to 4-0.
All four runs scored after King had already recorded two outs.
Freeman struck again in the fourth. Betts doubled down the left-field line before Freeman drove him home with another single to center.
Freeman finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, continuing to produce after making an adjustment to get his front foot down earlier while managing patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
Eight Dodgers Pitchers Combine For Shutout
Dave Roberts planned Tuesday’s opener as a bullpen game, and nearly every pitcher involved had something at stake with postseason roster decisions approaching.
Brock Stewart opened the game with a scoreless first inning before Justin Wrobleski, Blake Treinen, Roki Sasaki, Edwin Díaz, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer carried the shutout through the ninth.
Together, the eight pitchers allowed only five hits and two walks while recording 10 strikeouts.
San Diego never advanced a runner beyond second base.
The performance was especially encouraging against a Padres team that entered the series having won 13 of its previous 14 games.
Roki Sasaki Returns With Scoreless Inning
Sasaki made his first Major League appearance since landing on the injured list with a blister on his right middle finger.
Working from the bullpen in the fourth inning, Sasaki retired Jackson Merrill on a flyout and struck out Austin Hays before allowing consecutive two-out singles to Xander Bogaerts and Luis Campusano.
He recovered by freezing Jake Cronenworth for an inning-ending strikeout.
Sasaki completed the inning with two hits allowed, no walks and two strikeouts. It was his first opportunity to audition for the relief role the Dodgers are considering for him in October.
The scoreless inning was encouraging, but one appearance does not secure his place in the postseason bullpen. The Dodgers will continue evaluating how his stuff and command translate to shorter outings.
Edwin Díaz Continues Postseason Audition
Díaz followed Sasaki with a perfect fifth inning.
He struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. and Dustin Harris before inducing a soft groundout from Manny Machado.
Díaz has now delivered three consecutive scoreless appearances since returning from the injured list. That represents an encouraging response after Dave Roberts made it clear that Díaz needed to pitch better to earn a postseason roster spot.
Like Sasaki, Díaz still has more to prove during the final week. His clean inning against the top of San Diego’s lineup was another positive step.
Hurt also contributed two scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while striking out two.
De Paula Records First MLB Triple
De Paula continued the encouraging start to his Major League career by going 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and his first career triple.
The rookie singled and scored during the four-run second inning before driving a ball into the right-field corner for a leadoff triple in the sixth.
De Paula attempted to score on a fly ball from Pages but was thrown out at the plate by Dustin Harris.
Pages went hitless in his return but reached base twice on a hit-by-pitch and a walk while playing center field.
Edman And Smith Add Insurance With Home Runs
The Dodgers continued extending their lead after King left the game.
Edman homered into left-center field in the sixth inning for his eighth home run of the season. His homer came after De Paula was thrown out at home and gave Edman his second RBI of the night.
Will Smith added a solo home run in the seventh, pushing the lead to 7-0. It was Smith’s 10th homer of the season.
Los Angeles finished with nine hits and drew four walks while scoring in four different innings.
Dodgers Move Within One Of First-Round Bye
Tuesday’s victory carried more importance than simply opening the series against a division rival.
Atlanta’s loss leaves the Dodgers five games ahead of the Braves with five remaining. Because Atlanta owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, Los Angeles still must finish with a better record.
One more Dodgers win or Braves loss will eliminate that remaining scenario and officially secure the National League’s second first-round bye.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to start Wednesday as the Dodgers attempt to clinch it themselves. Shohei Ohtani is also expected to be activated before the game, although the roster move has not been made official.
The Dodgers entered Tuesday looking for answers from several potential postseason relievers. They received nine scoreless innings—and moved one result away from earning valuable rest before the NLDS.