LOS ANGELES — Longing for their regular-season success to carry into the playoffs after multiple postseasons of disappointment, the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves on track — for one day, at least.
The host Dodgers will head into Game 2 of their best-of-five National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Sunday night after winning the opener in much of the same way they fashioned MLB’s best record in the regular season.
Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run home run in his first-ever playoff game, and five Dodgers relievers held the Padres scoreless over the final six innings in a 7-5 victory in Game 1 on Saturday. Los Angeles ended a six-game postseason losing streak.
The day before the playoffs began, Ohtani was asked if he were nervous, and he offered a one-word answer in English: “Nope.”
He showed it in a game that also included his broken-bat single and two runs scored, although he did strike out twice.
“I’ve played at this stadium the entire year and was able to really feel the intensity of the stadium,” Ohtani said after Game 1 through interpreter Will Ireton. “… I thought it was pretty exciting.”
After the Dodgers were bounced from the 2022 NLDS by the Padres in four games, and swept out of last year’s NLDS by the Arizona Diamondbacks, their 3-0 first-inning deficit Saturday felt familiar. But they pushed in front in the fourth inning on a two-run single from Teoscar Hernandez and never trailed again.
“I talked about this for a few weeks that we need to fight, and that’s what we did,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We didn’t get off to an ideal start, but guys in the (bullpen) picked us up, and the offense was relentless.”
The Dodgers will send right-hander Jack Flaherty to the mound in Game 2. The trade-deadline addition from the Detroit Tigers was a combined 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 28 starts this season and 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 10 starts after he arrived in Los Angeles. He is 2-1 with a 4.45 ERA in six career starts against San Diego.
Former Dodgers right-hander Yu Darvish will take the mound for the Padres. Darvish knows all about playoff games in Los Angeles, losing Game 7 of the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros as a member of the Dodgers, while winning Game 2 of the NLDS for the Padres on Oct. 12, 2022.
Of particular interest will be Darvish’s matchups against countryman Ohtani, whom he has held to one hit in five at-bats, with two strikeouts.
“It’s not something just specifically talking about facing Shohei. I’m facing all nine Dodgers hitters,” said Darvish, who was 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 regular-season starts. “Going into the game, I just want to keep the focus, keep the concentration at a high level and execute my pitches.”
Darvish is 5-5 with a 2.27 ERA in 15 career starts against the Dodgers, including 1-0 with a 1.72 ERA in three starts this season.
The Padres took an early lead with a three-run first inning Saturday that included a two-run home run from Manny Machado. They led 5-3 in the third inning after a two-run double from Xander Bogaerts. But the offense stalled from there.
“They’re coming alive, so we better outscore them,” the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. said. “Find a way to make it happen no matter what and go from there.”
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media