mollyfamwatWe can say with certainty: The Dodgers and Padres did not disappoint.
It was the most anticipated game in baseball this season. So much excitement has built up over the past six months that there is no way this game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres could have lived up to the hype.
And then the first game exceeded all expectations.
Friday night’s game, the first of 19 regular season contests between two teams just 120 miles apart, felt like an April postseason contest when every pitch counts and every play is scrutinized. The Padres were allowed to bring more fans to Petco Park, and the crowd of 15,250 provided a soundtrack of thunder sticks and Beat LA chants! which brought a palpable intensity to a passionate game that went extra innings and lasted nearly five hours.
2 Connected
There were some amazing home runs and some baffling errors. Amazing messages and mystical solutions. A fan runs across the field, there’s a fight nearby, and 17 different pitchers. For starters, there were some dramatic reversals, particularly in the eighth and ninth innings when the Padres tied the score, the Dodgers regained the lead, and the Padres tied the score again for the final out.
In the end, the Dodgers won by a score of 12. Inning by scoring five runs, giving them an 11-6 victory and seven consecutive wins. Their first run in this semifinal came on a home run by Corey Seeger. Your last one? David Price’s fly ball, an inside-out starter, was caught by Joe Musgrove, who threw a no-hitter seven days ago, and hit Jake Cronenworth, the second baseman who was brought in as an emergency backup.
It looked like a playoff game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. It was.
Corey Seager’s homer in the 12th. That inning gave the Dodgers the final lead. Orlando Ramirez-USA Sports Today
Yes, the first game is exactly how we wanted it to be.
Here’s what else we learned:
Not just a series: Players do almost nothing in a regular season series, regardless of the opponent, because the season is too long to invest in every game. This is not healthy. Same goes for Seeger’s lame answer to the question of whether he met the Padres….. I think it’s just another division. Every series in the division is important. — …was predictable.
Then it was the fourth inning and Padres manager Jace Tingler called on his No. 7 batter, who struck out two runners and pinch-hit in the ninth. Then, in the seventh inning, both teams committed five errors. Then it was tied in the eighth inning of the game, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called for four outs from Jansen. Then it was the 10th and Dennis Santana got out of trouble and went crazy.
Machado by clenched teeth Manny Machado, whose contract two years ago ushered in a new era in San Diego, has done it all for the Padres. He scored two singles, stole two bases, pitched a fabulous game with a hard grounder, and entered the top of the ninth. Machado threw six pitches with two outs, and no one spoke to Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen, whose stuff still looked electric and who appeared to have a sore back as he walked to first base. He then stole second base, reached third on a throw that didn’t go far, and scored on a single by Eric Hosmer.
Padres manager Jace Tingler said Machado had lower back problems during the fight, and then shoulder problems after he was robbed. But he was determined to play the game. He didn’t want me to take him out, Tinger said.
Dodgers absurd depth: On a night when the Dodgers were without three starters – including Cody Bellinger, who was diagnosed with a broken left fibula – it was Luke Reilly and Zach McKinstry who made the difference. Reilly hit his first career home run in the fifth inning, a 434-foot shot that tied the score at 1. McKinstry, who entered with an OPS of .974, scored runs in the eighth and 12th.
The 2016 draft was epic for the Dodgers. Will Smith is already one of the best receivers in the game. Gavin Lux is a superstar on the rise. Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin were the top two rookies in the game last season. McKinstry was a revelation. And Reilly may be on his way.
Return of Tatis up and down: The health of Fernando Tatis Jr’s left shoulder has raised many questions in this series. Ten days earlier he had a subluxation, his third problem with that shoulder in 23 days. There were questions about whether he could handle it all season and whether it would affect him as a player, especially in terms of his game mechanics.
play
0:19
Fernando Tatis Jr. hits a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give San Diego the lead.
His return was a source of both concern and optimism. The optimism came from a 410-foot home run to center field by Walker Buehler, who, on a later review, noticed that Tatis kept both hands on the bat, an adjustment the Padres would like to see to spare his shoulder. The concern came from the defense, with two errors – a throwing error to second base in the sixth and a botched double play in the 12th.
More invulnerability: Dodgers reliever Corey Knebel and Padres pitcher Mark Melancon combined for one hit, one walk, 12 strikeouts on the field and no runs in 11 innings prior to this series, when both were hit in the bottom of the inning.
When Padres right fielder Wil Myers made a pitch with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Padres trailed by two runs, the opposing team was 0-for-12 with six innings ending in a fumble curveball. But Myers got one across the plate and threw one to right center, then Prophar took one from Yurickson and doubled down the left field line.
Jurickson Profars’ double to left field couldn’t keep the Dodgers from winning for now. Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images
When Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was in the top of the ninth, opponents were 1-for-13 when they had two hits against Melancon. But Turner, who said in spring training that the games between the Dodgers and the Padres would resemble 19 World Series games, blasted a 2-2 opener at the plate and hit it into center field, giving the Dodgers and Padres their second lead of the night.
It was a very good game, said Price, who pitched the final two innings and retired the side in a row in the 11th. Neither team wanted to lose this game.
Related Tags:
dodgers-padres game 2dodgers beat padresdodgers vs padrespadres vs dodgers live espnmax muncykenley jansen,People also search for,Privacy settings,How Search works,dodgers-padres game 2,dodgers beat padres,dodgers vs padres,padres vs dodgers live espn,max muncy,kenley jansen,cody bellinger,gavin lux
mollyfamwat
Wesley_Hornbeck
