Dodgers Break More Postseason Narratives, Shutout San Diego Padres To Win NLDS
The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to the National League Championship Series after a stunning 2-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
Virtually every sports media personality predicted the Padres would advance, especially after a dominant 10-2 win in game two where they launched six home runs. That certainty only grew after the series moved to San Diego for game three, with a raucous Petco Park crowd and extremely poor Dodgers defense propelling the Padres to a 6-5 win.
With their backs against the wall, the Dodgers went to a bullpen game against Padres ace Dylan Cease. Again, another seeming mismatch. But a Mookie Betts first inning home run silenced the crowd, and the Dodgers offense continued adding on. The bullpen game turned into an 8-0 shutout, sending the series to a decisive game five in Los Angeles.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto started for LA on Friday after giving up five runs in just three innings in game one, while the Padres countered with Yu Darvish, who was dominant in game two. So Yu Darvish, who'd held the Dodgers to one run in seven innings in game two, Shohei Ohtani going 0-4 with three strikeouts, Yamamoto, who the Padres had already handled in game one…sounds like a recipe for another Padres blowout, right?
Postseason narratives lose again.
In the second inning, Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernandez hit a towering, 428 foot solo homer to start the scoring.
The Padres threatened in the third inning, with back-to-back singles in front of Fernando Tatis Jr., who'd "danced" his way to one of the best postseason batting lines in MLB history through the first four games. He promptly hit into a double play. Both pitching staffs put up zero after zero, until Teoscar Hernandez launched another no doubter off Darvish in the 7th.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 11: Enrique Hernandez #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates while rounding the bases off a solo home run during the second inning in game five of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers Shutdown Padres Offense, Ride Solo Homers To Series Win
The Dodgers bullpen got through the eighth and ninth innings without allowing a baserunner, clinching the game and the series on a grounder from Tatis.
It was quite the contrast for the San Diego players from game two, when their exuberance, intensity, celebrations and yes, trolling, fired up emotions on both sides heading to San Diego. After scoring six runs in the second inning of game three, the Padres didn't score again in the rest of the series. After all the criticism, Dodgers pitching put up 24 consecutive scoreless innings to complete the comeback.
Entering the playoffs, most prognosticators picked the Padres; they entered October as the hottest team in baseball in the second half. Always a popular narrative as something to look for heading into the postseason. After sitting around .500 for most of the season, San Diego finished 43-20, then dominated the Atlanta Braves in the wild card series. Their pitching was overwhelming, their bullpen was unhittable, and their propensity for "clutch" hitting insurmountable.
But after game two, the Padres were outscored 15-6. Their bullpen faltered in game four, their hitting evaporated against a bevy of Dodgers relievers, and Cease didn't get out of the second inning in his final appearance.
Most assumed that the Dodgers would need a spectacular performance from Ohtani to get through. But outside a three-run homer early in game one, Ohtani was mostly kept quiet, hitting just .200 in the series. Still, it's a testament to the depth of the Dodgers lineup, bullpen and the top level quality in game five from Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Dodgers will host game one of the NLCS against the New York Mets on Sunday, with plenty more drama sure to come.