SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres are not interested in blazing a trail when the old path is working well.
For the second time in three seasons, the Padres can eliminate the Los Angeles Dodgers from the National League Division Series with three consecutive victories after losing the opener in a best-of-five matchup.
In 2022, San Diego lost Game 1 at Los Angeles, then won three straight, rallying late in the clincher. On Tuesday, the Padres won their second consecutive game in the current series, putting up all of their runs in the second inning en route to a 6-5 home victory over the Dodgers.
With both teams short on starters, Game 4 will offer twists. The Padres will send right-hander Dylan Cease to the mound on three days of rest after he started Game 1 on Saturday.
“Dylan’s ready to go and we’ll see how many bullets he’s got,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “He (wrapped) his head around it and we discussed it with him and he was enthusiastic about it.”
Cease gave up five runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings in Game 1, when the Padres took an early 3-0 lead before the Dodgers rallied for a 7-5 victory. He was 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA over 33 starts in the regular season, including 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers will go with a bullpen game, according to manager Dave Roberts, although right-hander Landon Knack is available to pick up multiple innings.
“It’s essentially all hands on deck,” Roberts said.
After the Padres pounded Los Angeles for 10 runs and six homers in Game 2 on Sunday, they returned to build their six-run second inning on the back of a two-run double from former Dodger David Peralta and a two-run home run from Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis has four home runs in five postseason games, three of them coming in the past two contests. He is 10-for-18 with seven RBIs since the playoffs began and is thriving in just his second postseason and first with fans in the stands. He previously played in the 2020 pandemic playoffs.
Tatis missed the 2022 season after he broke his wrist over the offseason and also was given an 80-game drug suspension.
“It’s just beautiful and definitely rewarding through everything I’ve been through, through what we’ve been through as a group,” Tatis said. “… And, man, when you play baseball like this in the postseason, you get all those memories back. You just feel grateful where you’re at.”
All of the drama in the Tuesday game occurred on the field after Game 2 was marred by players bickering, fans throwing objects and an incident left up for debate after Manny Machado flung a ball toward the Dodgers’ dugout.
“I really just appreciate this group, the way they compete, the way they carried themselves,” Shildt said about Game 3. “They showed up and it was just nice to actually (see) the first pitch be thrown and we’re just playing baseball. That was great.”
Trailing 6-1 in the third inning, the Dodgers got a grand slam from Teoscar Hernandez to pull within one. However, Los Angeles did not score over the final six innings and was held to one hit over the final four innings by four Padres relievers. San Diego pitchers retired 16 consecutive batters after Hernandez’s slam.
“You have to play the game and figure it out as we go,” said the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, who hit a first-inning home run to break an 0-for-22 postseason drought. “There’s no magic to it.”
Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas (groin) and first baseman Freddie Freeman (ankle) are dealing with injuries. Freeman said he would go through pregame work early Wednesday before determining if he can play in Game 4.
“It just feels the same,” said Freeman, who rolled his right ankle during the final week of the regular season. “I’m just doing the best I can.”
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media