LOS ANGELES — It appeared as if Sunday’s finale, the seventh sport in 10 days between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers, would lastly produce the primary dud of this exhilarating matchup. The Dodgers led by six runs, and the Padres had been all the way down to their final 9 outs, getting into the ultimate three innings of a grueling stretch that consisted of 17 video games in 17 days.
However after all, the Padres chipped away on the deficit.
After all, they made it fascinating within the ninth.
And after all, they despatched it into further innings.
The Padres ultimately won, driving a game-tying single from Manny Machado and a game-winning sacrifice fly from Eric Hosmer. San Diego wound up taking 4 of the seven video games from the Dodgers and outscored them by the slimmest of margins, 32-30. All instructed, the groups performed 68 innings and had been separated by two runs or fewer in 61 of them. There have been 10 ties, 5 lead adjustments, two close to brawls and one Twitter combat.
“Man, I am drained,” Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. instructed the ESPN broadcast moments after recording the ultimate out. “All I wanna do is go house and fall asleep.”
Sunday’s outing truly supplied the proper bookend. The opener — again on April 16, which now looks like three months in the past — lasted 12 innings and 297 minutes. The finale lasted 11 innings and 299 minutes. The opener noticed Dodgers pitcher David Price hit a sacrifice fly off Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth, which was caught by Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove. The finale noticed two beginning pitchers, Ryan Weathers of the Padres and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, come to bat with the successful run 90 ft away within the 10th inning.
One inning later, Mark Melancon took the mound because the 41st and last participant to look in Sunday’s sport.
The Dodgers are the reigning World Collection champs, winners of eight consecutive division titles. They entered this four-game collection with the very best document within the majors and ended it with the very best document within the majors. They do not have something to show at this level. The Padres nonetheless do. They usually did.
“I feel we definitely made a press release,” Hosmer stated. “The entire baseball world was watching these video games, locked into our collection, and I feel they know that we will compete with these guys.”
The Padres and Dodgers will play not less than 12 extra instances this season, however the subsequent assembly will not come till June 21. Till then, listed here are seven takeaways from their seven tantalizing April video games:
An epic comeback
It was solely becoming that this inconceivable collection would function an inconceivable ending. When Chris Taylor belted a three-run homer within the sixth inning on Sunday, pushing the result in 7-1, a Dodgers victory appeared like a foregone conclusion. The Padres had been 1-112 all time in video games through which they trailed the Dodgers by six or extra runs. Over the previous 50 seasons, groups trailing by six within the seventh inning or later had a .007 successful proportion. This 12 months alone, groups had been Zero-49 in that scenario.
The Dodgers had gained 228 consecutive video games through which they held a six-run lead.
The Padres, main league leaders in come-from-behind victories throughout the shortened 2020 season, fittingly had been those to finish that streak. They picked up two within the seventh, one other two within the eighth and one more two within the ninth, earlier than ending off the Dodgers two innings later.
“We simply had a perception that they can not shut us out, they can not shut us out,” Padres supervisor Jayce Tingler stated.
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts was clearly peeved at his bullpen’s efficiency, despite the fact that three of his high-leverage relievers had been out of motion.
He was requested if he discovered something new concerning the Padres over the course of those seven video games.
“Not a complete lot,” Roberts stated. “We knew they might pitch; we knew they’re athletic. They play good protection. They made some huge performs defensively, they received some huge hits once they wanted to, so, yeah, it is form of what we knew. It is simply extra about us and the way we play baseball. Once we play clear baseball, we pitch nicely, then we win.”
Tatis is again (on one aspect, not less than)
On Friday, Tatis homered twice off Kershaw, on the 22nd anniversary of his father belting two grand slams in a single inning at Dodger Stadium. On Saturday, Tatis homered twice once more — this time without work Trevor Bauer — to grow to be the primary participant ever with back-to-back two-homer video games in opposition to Cy Younger Award winners. On Sunday, he homered but once more. With that, he turned the primary shortstop to homer in three straight video games at Dodger Stadium and the primary participant with 5 house runs and two stolen bases in a highway collection, irrespective of the venue.
Zero:25
Fernando Tatis Jr. takes Dustin Might deep to middle discipline for a 408-foot homer.
“I actually imagine he is the very best expertise in baseball,” Hosmer stated. “He is the face of baseball, and he confirmed why. Particularly seeing him how he began, him having no panic in his sport in anyway. As a younger participant, while you begin out slightly gradual and never the way in which you wish to begin out, it is really easy to panic, to attempt to do extra. Coming into an enormous collection like this, when the entire world’s watching us in opposition to the Dodgers, and once more right now, being on ESPN, Sunday Evening Baseball — he simply continued to impress me on the psychological aspect of the sport.”
Tatis additionally booted a grounder within the second inning, giving him a serious league-leading 9 errors by means of his first 15 video games. However perhaps the protection will tighten up because the offensive a part of Tatis’ sport reemerges. Tatis started the four-game collection with a .600 OPS and ended it with a .970 OPS. On his fourth house run of the collection, he prolonged his arms and hit a pitch that tailed means out of the strike zone out to left-center. On his fifth, he noticed a fastball deep and hit it the opposite means. These are good indicators for his tender left shoulder.
Lined eyes, YouTube responses and Photoshop infants
In a stretch of 17 hours, we had …
• Fernando Tatis Jr. trolling Trevor Bauer by protecting certainly one of his eyes and doing the Conor McGregor strut whereas celebrating house runs.
• Bauer talking out in help of Tatis’ celebrations, saying he’s “all for it” and calling pitchers “tender” for retaliating to related showmanship by throwing at hitters.
• Bauer calling out Tatis on Twitter for seemingly peeking at Dodgers catcher Will Smith proper earlier than his second house run.
• Tatis dunking on Bauer in response.
Tranquilo hijo . pic.twitter.com/lRe2hBLmR8
— Fernando Tatis Jr. (@tatis_jr) April 25, 2021
Later, Bauer made a YouTube video through which he playfully broke down Tatis’ celebrations but additionally addressed him subtly trying again whereas on the plate to both peek at Smith’s signal or see the place he was establishing (or each) earlier than his sixth-inning house run — on a cutter that tailed considerably away from the strike zone.
Under was a part of Bauer’s response from that video.
When you’re gonna do this, and have fun it, I imply you gotta — ah, that is robust. That is robust. Both be ok to not have to take a look at the indicators, after which you possibly can have fun. Or if you happen to do have to take a look at the indicators, I do not know concerning the celebration, man. It is a robust one. Now this brings up the query of unwritten guidelines. Am I mad concerning the celebrations and the bat flips and all that stuff? No. Nonetheless, if you happen to begin indicators, if you happen to begin pulling this, like, bush-league stuff, that is when individuals get pissed off. I imply, lots of people get pissed off concerning the celebrations and no matter. They’re simply tender. However that is the kind of stuff that might get you hit in different video games. Now, I am mild-mannered about it, and I am gonna ship a message extra this manner and say, ‘Hey, that is not OK. When you preserve doing it, one thing must occur.’
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts struck an analogous tone in his pregame media session on Sunday afternoon. He claimed he hadn’t seen the video of Tatis peeking at Smith earlier than his house run, saying: “I’ve an amazing quantity of respect for Fernando, the way in which he performs the sport. But when that’s the case, which I do not know, that’ll be famous.”
He was requested if by “famous” he meant his catcher making changes to account for Tatis peeking.
“No,” Roberts responded, “that is not what I am speaking about.”
Zero:33
After trailing 7-1 within the seventh inning, Manny Machado drives in Fernando Tatis Jr. because the Padres come storming again to tie the Dodgers within the ninth inning.
An answer for Manny?
Manny Machado had reached base 14 instances in 21 profession plate appearances in opposition to Bauer when the season started. He had amassed 10 hits in 17 at-bats, 4 of which sailed over a fence, then added a few singles once they met once more on April 18. Towards Bauer’s four-seam fastball, Machado was slugging 1.727. Absurd.
On Saturday, Bauer countered by attacking Machado solely with sliders. Severely. In three at-bats, Machado noticed 13 consecutive sliders — the pitch Bauer is usually most comfy throwing to right-handed hitters and one which produced an atrocious-looking swing by Machado of their prior matchup.
The outcome with sliders this time: strikeout, groundout, strikeout, the final of which triggered a smile from Machado as he made his means again to his dugout.
Possibly Bauer lastly discovered one thing for Machado.
Déjà vu
It was a scene that transported you again to Sport 6 of final 12 months’s World Collection: Blake Snell cruising by means of 5 innings, popping out for the sixth, leaving surprisingly early with a lead, then watching his bullpen give all of it up. It occurred once more on Saturday, in the one sport that the Dodgers gained on this collection. Snell joined the Padres hoping he can be given the prospect to show he might constantly pitch deep into video games, one thing the Tampa Bay Rays hardly allowed. However he’s nonetheless trying to find his first six-inning begin since July 21, 2019.
The Padres have pulled Snell earlier than the 90-pitch mark in 4 of his 5 begins, which truly is not all that shocking. Each crew is working towards excessive warning with their beginning pitchers given the numerous innings bounce required when transitioning from a 60-game season to a 162-game marketing campaign. Finally, although, the Padres will want Snell to pitch deep into video games. Their bullpen has already absorbed a serious league-leading 103⅔ innings this season (eight of them on Sunday alone). That isn’t sustainable for a crew with aspirations of enjoying deep into October.
A brand new Kenley, very like the previous one
“California Love,” a signature aspect of Dodger Stadium’s soundtrack for many of the final decade, is not Kenley Jansen‘s entrance track. He ditched it for “2 of Amerikaz Most Wished,” one other fashionable 2Pac track.
“Only a new starting, man,” Jansen stated earlier this season. “It is time.”
This new Jansen appears lots just like the previous one, a stunning-yet-welcomed growth that might elevate the Dodgers to one more degree. The spin price on Jansen’s cutter is the very best it has been since Statcast started monitoring in 2015; the exit velocity in opposition to it’s simply the bottom in that stretch. On Tuesday, Jansen threw a pitch 97 mph — the primary time he has reached that mark since June 2018. On Saturday, Roberts referred to as on Jansen to document the ultimate 4 outs of a one-run sport, and he answered by retiring 4 of the 5 batters he confronted.
Jansen is throwing his cutter a median of 92 mph, the perfect velocity for that pitch. The execution is all about timing.
“It is the texture I have been trying to find, for years,” Jansen stated. “It is exhausting for me to elucidate.”
To be decided
For as intently matched because the Padres and Dodgers had been, it additionally was clear that neither crew was essentially the very best model of itself. Cody Bellinger, recovering from a hairline fracture in his leg, did not play in any respect. As an alternative, guys like Luke Raley, Matt Beaty and DJ Peters mixed to take 31 plate appearances in opposition to the Padres. When the Padres got here again to tie it within the ninth on Sunday, Jimmy Nelson was on the mound, and Garrett Cleavinger started to heat up shortly after Nelson received in hassle, getting into within the 11th. Neither would have been pitching in such high-leverage spots if this had been October and never April.
The Padres weren’t essentially entire, both. Dinelson Lamet wasn’t obtainable in both collection. He’s certainly one of 11 San Diego pitchers at present on the injured listing. And so, when Tingler was requested if he believes his crew is healthier than the Dodgers, he answered this manner: “I am extra targeted on what we’re gonna be, and the issues we will clear up and are available collectively, and I really feel very, very assured that we have got extra to go. And I am positive on the opposite aspect, as nicely. They’re gonna have guys come again. They’re gonna enhance, and we’re gonna enhance.”