SAN DIEGO —
Gulp. Sigh. Rattling. It’s occurring once more.
For the second time in three postseasons, the Dodgers confirmed up at San Diego’s Petco Park on a cool October night time brimming with confidence, driving on emotion, stung by skepticism, prepared for revenge.
And as soon as once more, they’re consuming it.
This wipeout isn’t but as spectacular because the gorgeous crush of two Octobers in the past, however give it time.
As soon as once more, after dropping Sport 3 of the Nationwide League Division Sequence to the San Diego Padres, 6-5, the Dodgers discover themselves getting ready to an all-too-familiar destiny.
Another loss, and so they end a baseball-best season flat on their face.
Another loss, and greater than a billion {dollars} is bloodied and bruised and crawling into winter.
Another loss, and the Dodgers have as soon as once more suffered the worst of fates in opposition to the worst of opponents, as soon as once more crushed by an obnoxious little brother that’s all the things they’re not.
These preening, petulant, rattling good San Diego Padres.
The southern rivals lead the best-of-five collection two video games to at least one, with the ending presumably — in all probability? — occurring Wednesday night time in a Sport 4 that can characteristic a bunch of Dodger relievers making an attempt to compensate for an offense that includes a bunch of untamed hackers.
The blue future seems, properly, blue.
“We have to pick up the pieces,” stated Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts, however how?
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani walks to the dugout after placing out within the eighth inning Tuesday in opposition to the Padres.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Instances)
In a Sport 3 ringing with “Beat L.A.” chants and thick with an encore power carried over from the Sport 2 maelstrom, the Padres introduced the depth whereas the Dodgers surrendered it.
The Padres scored six runs within the second inning and, excluding a grand slam swing by Teoscar Hernández, the Dodgers did little to have interaction within the battle.
They had been speculated to nonetheless be livid at how the Padres had showboated their option to a Sport 2 victory that incited Dodger Stadium followers into idiocy, proper?
Flawed. They didn’t act mad, meekly banging out six hits in opposition to 5 Padres relievers and never scoring after the third inning.
They had been speculated to need to defend Roberts’ honor after Padre Manny Machado threw a baseball at him in Sport 2, proper?
Flawed. They had been tentative from the second starter Walker Buehler was assessed a pitch clock violation whereas going through Machado within the second inning, Buehler ultimately struggling like all Dodger starters have just lately struggled, permitting six runs in 5 innings.
“Yeah, not a great situation,” Roberts stated.
So as to add insult to embarrassment, the Padres didn’t retaliate for the Dodger followers showering their gamers with bottles and baseballs in Sport 2. The Padres followers had been, as an alternative, the portrait of power, roaring and waving yellow towels till lastly howling themselves hoarse when Tanner Scott struck out Shohei Ohtani wanting within the eighth inning to finish the Dodgers’ greatest final probability.
And to assume, the sport started with a house run for a man who was 0 for six on this collection and three for 44 courting again 12 playoff video games, a surprised Mookie Betts lastly placing one past the diving Jurickson Profar’s attain.
Dodgers batter Gavin Lux reacts after placing out within the ninth inning to finish the sport Tuesday in opposition to the Padres.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Instances)
The Dodgers didn’t keep in management for lengthy. They appeared to lose their mojo earlier than the underside of the second inning even started with that pitch-clock violation, and it solely received worse.
Machado singled up the center, then pressured an error when he ran contained in the baseline on a grounder to Freddie Freeman and Freeman’s throw to second glanced off his shoulder and into left discipline. Shortstop Miguel Rojas complained that Machado ought to have been referred to as out, nevertheless it was a authorized play, and the Padres abruptly had two males on base, setting the stage for a Xander Bogaerts deep grounder that Rojas couldn’t flip into an out, as an alternative permitting a run to attain.
Then David Peralta doubled down the right-field line to attain two runs, a Kyle Higashioka fly ball scored one other run, then Fernando Tatis Jr. crushed a house run to deep left discipline to make it six runs.
Trailing 6-1, the Dodgers appeared overwhelmed nearly earlier than the sport began, and even Hernández’ third-inning granny couldn’t change that.
The sport started amid lingering tensions over the conflict of feelings in that Sport 2 Padres victory, Including gasoline to the possibly flamable state of affairs was the Dodger allegations that Machado threw a baseball at Roberts whereas he was standing within the dugout within the seventh inning. The ball bounced into the protecting netting and by no means hit Roberts, nevertheless it sparked a confrontation between the gamers that unfold to the managers and heightened the hate.
Watching the video of the incident, it’s not clear if Machado was throwing at Roberts or simply routinely tossing a useless ball into the dugout.
However in a number of interviews afterward, Machado didn’t deny throwing at Roberts and implied it was payback for Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty earlier hitting Tatis.
The guess right here is, Machado did it. He threw at Roberts. The 2 males weren’t shut when Machado was briefly a Dodger in 2018, as Machado offended Roberts’ hustling sensibilities by taking part in lazily and carelessly.
In an interview throughout Monday’s off-day exercise, Roberts referred to as the incident “unsettling” and stated if Machado was throwing at him, “it’s pretty disrespectful.”
When requested about these feedback earlier than Tuesday’s recreation, Padres Supervisor Mike Shildt took a shot at Roberts, saying, “I’m not nor will I ever disparage another player on another team, especially anybody I’ve managed in the past… that’s not how I want to operate.”
Given an opportunity to answer Shildt’s response, Roberts declined remark, saying, “Those are his words.”
Later, the Dodgers’ play in Sport 3 was the baseball equal of one other “no comment.”
They higher converse up, and shortly.
