The Padres had a bum eighth inning Friday. The Dodgers returned the favor Saturday and the Friars took advantage – and how – on the way to an 8-3 win.
The Friars scored seven runs to erase a 3-1 L.A. lead, keyed by two-run singles by both Manny Machado and Trent Grisham. They sent 12 men to the the plate in the inning, including Juan Soto, who, with the bases loaded, hustled up the line after hitting an infield squibber between first and second.
Enrique Hernández, under pressure, threw the ball away, allowing the tying runs to score. It was the first of two Dodgers errors in the inning, leading to four unearned runs.
“After least night, we had to have a much better game today,” said manager Bob Melvin. “Even though, for a while it didn’t look great, the intensity was there the entire game. We realize we’re going to have to have games like this if we’re going to keep moving forward.”
The Dodgers, like Friday, drew first blood with an early solo home run, this one in the first inning by catcher Will Smith. They added another run before Machado cut their advantage in half with his own solo shot in the fourth.
Machado, meanwhile, finished the game, but after going first to third during the hectic eighth, he came up gimpy. Melvin said he suffered “a little bit of hamstring” tightness and the team will wait to see how he feels Sunday.
Starter Blake Snell left trailing after five innings, but the team’s comeback got him off the hook. Nick Martinez was credited with the win.
The Padres again had a chance to gain in the wild-card race and this time made it happen. Cincinnati, Miami and Arizona lost. The Padres are among four clubs within three games of the final wild-card spot.
Also of note: Starter Joe Musgrove’s layoff is going to be longer than originally hoped. He skipped his Wednesday start, but now will be held out of action for three weeks, after doctors found inflammation in his right shoulder.
“Every part of me wants to go out there and throw,” he told MLB.com. “But everything’s telling us that we needed to step back and give it some rest.”
Sunday will be a matchup of new acquisitions for both the Padres and the Dodgers. Starter Rich Hill, late of the Pittsburgh Pirates, will make his Padres debut Sunday, while Lance Lynn, who came to L.A. from the White Sox, also will get the start.
