LOS ANGELES — Manny Machado connects on the three-run homer that broke the finale open, powering the Padres past the Dodgers 5-2 at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. Credit: @padres
LOS ANGELES — The finale hadn’t even settled in before things got strange. Three pitches into Sunday’s series closer at Dodger Stadium, Padres infield coach Ryan Goins and manager Craig Stammen were both ejected by home plate umpire Nick Mahrley, and the tone was set before Fernando Tatis Jr. ever got a swing off. By the time the dust cleared, San Diego had turned that chaotic opening into a 5-2 win, snapping a three-game slide against Los Angeles. The Dodgers still left with the series in hand, taking three of four, but a disastrous seventh inning cost them the sweep.
Chaos before the Dodgers even got a swing in
Goins went first, tossed before the Padres had even recorded an out. Stammen followed him to the clubhouse moments later, and Dodger Stadium was left buzzing over an ejection double feature that unfolded before Tatis struck out swinging to open the game. Nobody in the building had a clear read on what set it off, but it made for a bizarre undercurrent to an afternoon that, for six innings, looked like the Dodgers were going to cruise through a fourth straight win.
Emmet Sheehan worked around traffic all day but kept the damage to a single run, a Jackson Merrill RBI single in the fourth that briefly put San Diego ahead. He ran into more trouble in the fifth, putting runners on second and third with one out, but reliever Jack Dreyer came in and slammed the door, intentionally walking Machado to load the bases before inducing back-to-back outs that stranded all three runners. Dreyer stayed on for the sixth and kept it scoreless too, and the Dodgers trailed just 1-0 heading into the seventh, very much alive and seemingly in control.
Kyle Hurt couldn’t hold the line
That’s when it all came apart. Hurt walked Sung-Mun Song to open the seventh, watched him steal second, then gave up a single to Luis Campusano that put runners at the corners. Tatis followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0, and after Miguel Andujar flew out for the first out, Manny Machado turned on a pitch and sent it out to center for a three-run homer. Just like that, a manageable one-run game was a 5-0 hole, and the air went out of Dodger Stadium in the span of four batters. Paul Gervase came in behind Hurt and threw two clean innings to close it out, but the damage was already done. Sheehan’s final line, 4.1 innings and just one earned run, deserved a much better fate than the loss column.
The bats never found an answer
San Diego’s pitching staff made the deficit stand up. JP Sears worked around Los Angeles’ lineup for five-plus innings, and Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez kept the line moving in relief before the Dodgers finally scratched something together in the seventh. Shohei Ohtani reached base three times on the day, drawing a pair of walks and adding an RBI single that plated Kyle Tucker, while Alex Freeland’s line drive single brought home Teoscar Hernández to make it 5-2.
It was too little, too late against a Padres bullpen that had Mason Miller waiting behind Adrian Morejon to slam the door in the ninth. Freddie Freeman went hitless in four at-bats and saw his teammates strand traffic behind him more than once, including an Andy Pages walk in the fourth that died on a Freeman double play, the kind of missed opportunity that looms larger once a game turns lopsided. Mookie Betts drew a walk of his own but otherwise couldn’t get anything going against a Padres staff that had answers all afternoon.
Series win still says more than one bad afternoon
Sunday’s loss stings less in the context of the week. The Dodgers took three of four from a Padres team now dealing with a coaching staff rattled before first pitch and a lineup that has scuffled against Los Angeles pitching all season. San Diego avoided the sweep, but it did little to change the shape of the division race.
Up next
The Dodgers turn the page quickly, with the Rockies coming into Dodger Stadium for a three-game set starting Monday. Eric Lauer gets the ball for Los Angeles against Kyle Freeland, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PT.
