LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers jog off the field at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium after completing their biggest comeback win in four years, a 12-7 victory over the Padres. Credit: @losdodgers
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers opened their final homestand before the All-Star break by digging themselves a hole that looked like a laugher in the making, then spent the rest of the night proving why nobody should ever count out this lineup. Down 6-0 before they had recorded a hit that mattered, Los Angeles erupted for six runs in the fourth inning and never looked back, beating the Padres 12-7 in a game that swung from ugly to electric in about twenty minutes. Play-by-play voice Joe Davis called it the largest comeback win for the Dodgers in four years, and by the time it was over, nobody in the building was thinking about how bad the first three innings had looked.
Sasaki Gets Rocked Early
Roki Sasaki’s rough stretch continued, and this one got out of hand fast. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado teamed up for a first-inning run, then Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth turned the second into a track meet. Cronenworth’s three-run homer capped the damage and pushed San Diego out to a 6-0 lead before Los Angeles had even settled in. Sasaki was done after three innings, tagged for six runs on seven hits, and the kind of night where the Dodgers needed their bullpen to hold the line while the offense figured out how to answer.
The Fourth Inning That Changed Everything
This is where the game flipped. Dalton Rushing and Tommy Edman opened the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles, and from there the inning refused to end. Andy Pages ripped a two-run double,
Mookie Betts followed with a two-run double of his own to give Los Angeles its first lead of the night, and Max Muncy capped it with an RBI single that made it 8-6. Six runs, five hits, one inning, and a game that had looked over by the second was suddenly a Dodgers lead. It was the kind of sequence that turns a quiet crowd loud in a hurry, and it set the tone for everything that followed.
The Bats Refused to Cool Off
Los Angeles did not let up after the fourth. Rushing and Edman kept the line moving in the fifth with doubles of their own, Edman later scoring on a wild pitch, and the Dodgers tacked on more in the sixth and eighth to push the lead to 12-6 before San Diego’s late run made it 12-7 final. Rushing finished with four hits and four RBIs in the best game of his season so far, Kyle Tucker reached base four times, and Edman came a triple short of the cycle while driving in two and swiping a base. Ohtani, Freeman and Betts each did damage in the middle of the lineup, and by the ninth the Padres had thrown seven different arms trying to find an answer that never came.
“LOS ANGELES — Kyle Tucker greets Dalton Rushing at the plate during the Dodgers’ 12-7 comeback win over the Padres. Credit: @dodgers
Bullpen Holds the Line
Will Klein was the unsung hero of the night, coming on for two scoreless innings right after the Dodgers took the lead and stabilizing things when San Diego still had every chance to strike back. Brock Stewart, Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez combined for three more scoreless frames before the Padres scratched across a run in the ninth off Paul Gervase. Klein picked up the win. Wandy Peralta, who allowed the go-ahead runs in that fourth-inning explosion, took the loss. It was not a clean night for the pitching staff on either side, but Los Angeles’ relievers did just enough to protect the biggest comeback the team has pulled off in years.
LOS ANGELES — Will Klein, Brock Stewart, Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez and the rest of the Dodgers bullpen combined to hold off the Padres in the 12-7 comeback win at Dodger Stadium. Credit: @dodgers
Up Next
The Dodgers and Padres are back at it Friday night at Dodger Stadium, with Shohei Ohtani finally getting his turn on the mound after being bumped earlier in the week. He’ll face Michael King with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. PST. It is the start of a stretch of nine more games before the All-Star break, three apiece against the Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks. Once the break wraps up, Los Angeles hits the road for a nine-game trip that opens in New York against the Yankees.
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani gets set to take the mound Friday against the Padres, first pitch at 7:10 p.m. PST. Credit: @Dodgers