The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-2 in game two of the NLDS Sunday, evening up the series at one game a piece as the series shifts to San Diego.
The Padres are following a similar path to their 2022 playoff run, where they beat the Dodgers in the playoffs. Just like seasons ago, the Padres won game two following a loss in Los Angeles. Unlike two seasons ago, the Padres dealt with a lengthy in-game delay, due to fans throwing objects on the field.
San Diego did not wait long to put Saturday’s loss behind them, as right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a solo home run to give the Padres a 1-0 first inning lead.
Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts hit a ball well to left field in the bottom of the first, but was robbed of a home run from left fielder Jurickson Profar, who leaped to catch the ball before a fan could.
A two-run home run from designated hitter David Peralta gave the Padres a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Center Fielder Jackson Merrill added a run in the sixth inning on an opposite field single, after the Dodgers brought in a left handed pitcher to face him.
Before the start of the bottom of the seventh, fans threw objects, including a baseball, onto the field and near the Padres outfielders. Profar was visibly upset, as he had come close to the fans during the first inning. The delay lasted over 10 minutes.
“I feel like when it went over the line, when they started throwing stuff onto the field,” Tatis said. “I felt like that should not be happening in a big league game.”
The delay did not faze starting pitcher Yu Darvish, who completed seven innings of work and gave up just one run on three hits.
Following the inning, third baseman Manny Machado gathered his teammates in the dugout for a brief meeting before beginning the eighth inning.
Whatever the words were, the Padres responded well, hitting four home runs over the next two innings to win comfortably. Merrill, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, catcher Kyle Higashioka and Tatis all went deep to help the Padres win big. San Diego homered six times.
“Six of them is a special treat for us,” Merrill said.
The Dodgers best chance offensively came in the second inning, when Los Angeles loaded the bases with nobody out following two singles and a walk. They were only able to score one in the inning on a sacrifice fly from second baseman Gavin Lux. They could have had more, as Dodgers center fielder Tommy Edman hit a ball hard, but right at first basemen Luis Arraez, who sprinted to first base for the inning-ending double play.
Darvish threw only 82 pitches Sunday, en route to an efficient night on the mound which included striking out his World Baseball Classic teammate Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani was 0-3 against Darvish.
The first three hitters in the Dodgers order combined to go 0-12. Losing first baseman Freddie Freeman in the sixth inning didn’t help. Freeman had been battling an injury prior to the postseason.
The series now shifts to San Diego for game three Tuesday. The Padres will start Michael King, who struck out 12 hitters in his wild card round start against the Atlanta Braves.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:08 p.m. PST.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
