SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres did not badmouth or accuse each other of immoral behavior, and fans remained calm.
When it all ended Tuesday night, in what started as a laugh, turned into a thriller, and then turned into something poignant, the Padres were the last team left standing.
The Padres defeated their neighbors to the north, 6-5, and are one game away from advancing to the National League Championship Series.
Relying on perhaps the best bullpen in the nation, the Padres shut out the Dodgers until the final six innings and took a 2-1 lead in the National League Division Series.
The Padres’ bullpen was the star, with four relief pitchers allowing only one base runner in the final four innings. The sellout crowd of 47,774 at Petco Park went wild when Robert Suarez struck out Gavin Lux to end the game.
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“This is what we’ve built,” Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar said. “this is us.”
It looked like the Padres would be able to escape, but in the second inning, Fernando Tatis hit a two-run homer over the left field to score six points, their highest score.
Tatis stood and watched the ball fall 96 feet away, flicking his bat high into the air and slowly circling the bases as he danced up and down the aisle as the packed crowd cheered toward Del Mar. .
“I think it’s definitely part of their game,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said before Game 3. regular season game. . .
“That’s part of their game, to get under your skin and get you to express your emotions and try to get you to do things that you wouldn’t normally do. For example, if you’re a pitcher and they do things like that. When you see a player doing that, you might suddenly want to throw harder, and now the ball will fly right over the plate, and that’s when their teammates are doing the damage.
“It’s easier said than done, but we can’t let that happen.”
After that inning, the Dodgers did not.
Buehler, who allowed seven runners on base in the second inning, remained calm, allowed only three baserunners over the next three innings, and watched his team storm back in the third inning.
The Dodgers took the lead in the first inning with three consecutive singles by Miguel Rojas, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, and after Freddie Freeman drew the line, Teoscar Hernandez briefly calmed the raucous crowd.
He hit a grand slam that barely sailed over the center field fence, and just like that, a potential Padres rout became nail-biting, and a 6-1 lead was cut to 6-5.
It became a bullpen battle, and Buehler and Padres starting pitcher Michael King each retired after five innings.
Indeed, this game was not devoid of entertainment.
Mookie Betts, who has been in a postseason slump for the past three years, is convinced he’s down on his luck, and when he hit Michael King’s ball over the left-field wall in his first at-bat, Profar I believed I had stolen another home run. .
After what happened in Game 2, who can blame him?
This time, he actually returned to the Dodgers’ dugout and was halfway across the infield when he realized that Profar had missed the catch.
Betts, who was batting .068 (3 hits for 44) in the final 12 games of the postseason dating back to Game 4 of the 2021 National League Championship Series, then hit a four-run blast for the Dodgers in the third inning. It did not disappoint. It will also change the fate of the Dodgers.
The Padres sent a note to ticket holders in the afternoon imploring them to remain peaceful after watching the Dodgers crowd suspend Sunday’s game for 10 minutes and throw objects onto the field.
Padres manager Mike Shildt issued a similar verbal warning to the Dodgers, specifically manager Dave Roberts, essentially telling them not to mention Manny Machado’s name.
The Padres were furious when Roberts accused Machado of throwing a baseball at him between innings in Game 2, calling him “insecure,” while also saying the Padres were accepting a “villain-type” role. Ta.
“I probably come from a different philosophy of dealing with this,” Shildt said. “Listen, I came into this game to help players reach their full God-given abilities, compete on the field, and respect their opponents. I don’t have any disrespect for the players, especially the players I’ve coached in the past, and I don’t have any disrespect for the team as a whole.
“That’s not the way I want it to go. I have a lot of respect for their club and the players at their club.”
The Dodgers sent the video to MLB to see if discipline was warranted, but MLB officials determined there was nothing worthy of discipline.
Asked if Machado intentionally threw the ball to the other Roberts in the dugout, Shildt said, “There’s zero chance.”
Really, it was time to play baseball and forget all the other shenanigans, Shildt said.
“I don’t think it’s good for the game,” he said. “I think this game stands on its own merits. … Look at the passionate fan base that loves the team. That’s why we’re here. That’s what this game is about.
“Like the players, this game doesn’t need defense, it doesn’t need to be elevated, it doesn’t need attention. It’s a beautiful game run very well by our leadership. And this game… There are enough stages.”
Indeed, it proved once again Tuesday night when the Padres answered the crowd’s pleas.
Defeat LA.
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Here’s how Tuesday’s game will play out
Finals: Padres 6, Dodgers 5
Robert Suarez made a four-out save to end San Diego’s 6-5 victory at Petco Park and move the Padres one win away from defeating the rival Dodgers and making it to the NLCS.
Padres lead going into the 9th inning
Padres left-hander Tanner Scott started in the eighth inning and struck out Shohei Ohtani before sending Mookie Betts to center field. In a lefty-versus-lefty matchup, Freddie Freeman singled, and Padres manager Mike Shildt brought Scott in on Robert Suarez to face Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernandez. Suarez sent Hernandez flying into the infield to end the frame.
Bottom of the 7th inning: Padres 6, Dodgers 5
Padres starter Michael King was ejected after the fifth inning, and Jeremiah Estrada and Jason Adam combined for six straight outs, giving San Diego a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.
Up to 5 games: Padres 6, Dodgers 5
After both starting pitchers scored six runs in the Padres’ second inning, Walker Buehler pitched three consecutive zeros and the game stabilized. Michael King was retired for the eighth consecutive time after Teoscar Hernandez’s grand slam in the top of the third inning that cut San Diego’s lead to 6-5.
Dodgers fight back with Teoscar Hernandez’s grand slam
oh. After two incidents forced the Dodgers into a 6-1 hole, Los Angeles came back with Teoscar Hernandez’s grand slam to center field off Padres starting pitcher Michael King, making it a 6-5 game.
Expect the pendulum to swing a few more times in this game.
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s home run gives the Padres a 6-1 lead.
Who else is there? Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run home run into the left field seats in the bottom of the second inning, capping off a nightmare inning for Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler.
This is Tatis Jr.’s fourth home run in five games this postseason.
Padres take advantage of LA’s mistakes and take a 4-1 lead
Walker Buehler’s second inning was a disaster after a leadoff single, with two fielders’ choices and a Freddie Freeman error allowing the Padres to tie the game. With runners on first and third base, David Peralta hit a two-RBI double over Freeman over the right field line, making it 3-1.
Another hit allowed Peralta to advance to third base, setting up Kyle Higashioka’s sacrifice fly to give the Padres their fourth run and thankfully the first out of the inning.
Mookie Betts’ home run gives the Dodgers the lead.
In Game 3, Mookie Betts got the party started in the top of the first inning with a solo home run off Padres starting pitcher Michael King and over the glove of Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar.
Betts has been in a postseason slump, hitting .068 (3-for-44) in his last 12 playoff games dating back to the 2021 NLCS.
It was a near-exact copy of the play that made headlines in Game 2, but Profar jumped into the stands to steal a home run from Betts and took time to celebrate in front of the fans.
What time is the Dodgers vs. Padres game?
First pitch at Petco Park is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:08 p.m. ET.
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Dodgers Game 3 lineup
Shohei Ohtani (left) DH Mookie Betts (right) RFF Lady Freeman (left) 1B Teoscar Hernandez (right) LF Max Muncy (left) 3B Will Smith (right) C Gavin Lux (left) 2B Tommy Edman (S) CF Miguel Rojas (Right) SS
padres lineup
Luis Arraez (left) 1B Fernando Tatis Jr. (right) RF Jurickson Profar (S) LF Manny Machado (right) 3B Jackson Merrill (left) CFX Ander Bogaerts (right) SSD David Peralta (left) ) DH Jake Cronenworth (left) 2B Kyle Higashioka (right) C
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