Padres vs. Dodgers score: How San Diego had a big inning in unconventional fashion to take control of NLDS

The San Diego Padres are one win away from the National League Championship Series. Tuesday night at Petco Park, the Padres outlasted their NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers (SD 6, LA 5) and took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five Division Series. The Dodgers had baseball's best record during the regular season, and now they're one loss away from going home.

Game 3 was part chaos and part pitchers' duel. The Dodgers struck first when Mookie Betts snapped his postseason 0-for-22 slump (that dated back to 2022) with a first inning solo homer. Jurickson Profar very nearly robbed that homer, much like he robbed Mookie's homer in the first inning of Game 2. This time Profar ran out of the room and Betts hit the home run.

The Padres took control of Game 3 in a hectic second inning that featured defensive mistakes, big hits, and some plain ol' luck. Here's a breakdown of the inning that defined Game 3 and could very define this year's NLDS.

The inning started with a pitch clock violation

The Petco Park crowd had a tangible impact on Game 3. Manny Machado, whom Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said was "pretty disrespectful" when he threw a ball toward the Dodgers dugout in Game 2, led off the second inning, and the crowd chanted "Manny! Manny!" as he stood in the box. Walker Buehler was unable to hear his PitchCom and got dinged with a pitch clock violation, so the at-bat started with a 1-0 count. With the count in his favor, Machado opened the inning with a single. The Padres were in business.

Machado prevented a potential double play

The defense really hurt Buehler in that second inning. To be clear, Buehler wasn't good, but the defense made the inning worse. After Machado's leadoff single, Jackson Merrill pulled a ground ball to first base, and Freddie Freeman threw to second base to start a potential 3-6-3 (or 3-6-1) double play. The throw, however, hit Machado in the shoulder, and sailed into left field.

Note Machado was running on the infield grass when Freeman's throw hit him. That is a legal play, and a smart one. Running out of the baseline only applies when the runner is avoiding a tag. Machado's a career infielder and a former shortstop who knows the rule. He's been on the other side of it.

"I would have done the same thing," Freeman said about Machado running on the grass after Game 2 (via the Washington Post).  

By running on the grass, Machado put himself in position to disrupt the potential double play, and that's exactly what happened. Had Freeman been able to field the ground ball standing up, he could have gotten a better angle to throw to second. That was not the case though. The Dodgers should have gotten at least one out there, and maybe two. Instead, they got none.

The Dodgers botched a double play

Machado was able to reach third base when Freeman's throw hit him in the shoulder and wound up in left field. The next batter, Xander Bogaerts, hit what should have been a double play ball to Miguel Rojas at shortstop. A run would have scored to tie the score 1-1 on the double play but the Dodgers would have gotten two outs and avoided a big inning.

Alas and alack, the Dodgers again turned a potential double play into zero outs. After fielding the ground ball, Rojas was indecisive, and opted to take it to the bag himself rather than flip the ball to second baseman Gavin Lux for a traditional 6-4-3 double play. Merrill beat Rojas to the bag and Bogaerts beat the throw to first. Machado scored and everyone was safe. 

Instead of one run in, bases empty, and two outs, the Padres had one run in with runners on first and second with no outs. That's an enormous swing. Rojas got caught in between, not sure whether to take the ball himself or flip it to Lux. Clearly, he should have flipped the ball to Lux, who was waiting at second well in advance of Merrill's arrival. Rojas didn't do that. He took it himself, got zero outs, and opened the door for San Diego.

Peralta made the Dodgers pay

What a pickup David Peralta has been for the Padres. The 37-year-old began the season in Triple-A with the Cubs, got released on May 10, signed with the Padres eight days later, then got called up on May 22. He was summoned to replace Bogaerts, who fractured his shoulder diving for a ball. Peralta hit .267/.335/.415 for San Diego, including .279/.329/.431 against righties. He got significant playing time while Fernando Tatis Jr. spent two months on the injured list with a stress reaction in his leg.

Peralta drew the Game 3 start at DH against Buehler, and after Rojas opened the door for the Padres with his indecisiveness on the potential double play, Peralta kicked that door open with a double down the line and into the right field corner. That scored Merrill from second and Bogaerts from first to give the Padres a 3-1 lead.

Freeman is playing through a sprained right ankle -- he came up hobbled after stretching for a throw at first base later in Game 3, though he remained in the game -- and I can't help but wonder whether he would have been able to make a play on Peralta's double at full strength. Even if he couldn't turn it into an out, keeping the ball on the infield would have prevented the two runs from scoring. No such luck though. The ball got by Freeman and two runs scored.

Cronenworth beat out an infield single

This was not a defensive mistake -- this was simply a well-placed ground ball -- though it is another example of things just not going Buehler's way in that second inning. The two double plays weren't turned, Peralta's double was just out of Freeman's reach, then Jake Cronenworth broke his 0 for October with a little ground ball that Rojas fielded to his left, but didn't attempt to throw to first because he didn't have a play. A textbook infield single.

Following that play, Roberts and the Dodgers trainer came out to check on Rojas, who has been nursing torn adductor muscle. He remained in the game in the second inning, then exited after running the bases in the third. Anyway, Peralta advanced to third base on Cronenworth's infield single, and later scored on Kyle Higashioka's sacrifice fly. That gave the Padres a 4-1 lead.

Tatis with an exclamation point

There are few things cooler in this sport than a monster homer and a monster bat flip to cap off a big inning. After Luis Arraez popped out to short for the second out of the second inning, Buehler got ahead in the count 0-2 on Tatis. He was one strike away from finally -- finally -- ending the second inning. Instead, Buehler left a fastball over the heart of the plate, and Tatis did what great hitters do to bad 0-2 pitches. Behold, the rare good use of ump cam:

That was Tatis' third homer of the NLDS and his fourth of the postseason. He is 10 for 18 (.556) with two doubles, four homers, three walks, and zero strikeouts in five games this October. The home run capped San Diego's six-run second inning, an inning in which the Dodgers made two key defensive mistakes (or really one smart play by Machado and one key defensive mistake) and the Padres took advantage and them some.

To Buehler's and the Dodgers' credit, they did not roll over after the Padres put six runs on the board in the second to took a 6-1 lead. Teoscar Hernández clubbed a grand slam in the next half-inning to cut the lead to 6-5. Michael King and the stout San Diego bullpen then retired 20 of the final 21 Dodgers to close out the game. Game 3 when from chaotic early to a tense late.

Game 4 is Wednesday at Petco Park. The Padres will start righty Dylan Cease on short rest. He threw 82 pitches in 3 1/3 innings in Game 1 on Saturday. The Dodgers are going with a bullpen game. Their "starter" has not yet been announced. A Padres win sends the Padres to the NLCS. A Dodgers win gives us Game 5 at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

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Padres win Game 3, 6-5

The San Diego Padres have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five NLDS. The series was even, 1-1, heading into Tuesday's bout in Petco Park. There were plenty of fireworks, though most happened early. Mookie Betts homered in the first inning, this time glancing off of Jurickson Profar's glove instead of ending up in it. 

The Padres then hung a six-spot on the board in the bottom of the second inning, with Fernando Tatis Jr. providing the exclamation point.

Tatis is now 10 for 19 with two doubles, four home runs, seven RBI and eight runs scored in five playoff games this year. 

If it looked like it would be a laugher at that moment, the Dodgers quickly stifled any such thoughts. It was the top of the order in the third inning and their three MVPs -- Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman -- singled to load the bases. And then Teoscar Hernández brought the thunder with a grand slam to center. 

Little did we know then, but that was the end of the scoring. No outs had yet been recorded in the third inning and that was it. 

Starting pitchers Michael King of the Padres and Walker Buehler of the Dodgers buckled down. The bullpens did their thing as well. 

On the Padres' end, they used Jeremiah Estrada first and closer Robert Suarez got the final four outs. In between? Trade deadline acquisitions Jason Adam and Tanner Scott did the job. 

These two teams square off again Wednesday night in San Diego. The Padres can send the Dodgers packing while the Dodgers must win to face a do-or-die Game 5 in Dodger Stadium Friday night. 

October 9, 2024, 3:42 AM
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1 out

Muncy strikes out

October 9, 2024, 3:39 AM
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If Ohtani bats this inning, the best case for San Diego is a 6-5 lead with the bases loaded and two outs. Talk about drama.

October 9, 2024, 3:37 AM
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Actually no, it looks like Machado's calf actually. That's far less worrisome. 

October 9, 2024, 3:35 AM
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To the ninth!

The Padres lead 6-5. Suarez vs. Muncy, Will Smith, and Gavin Lux. Ohtani is six batters away.

October 9, 2024, 3:35 AM
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Manny Machado appeared to tweak his knee a little bit during his at-bat. He's fine for now, but that's something to monitor moving forward. 

October 9, 2024, 3:34 AM
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For the sake of content I've already written, yes, insurance runs would be nice.

October 9, 2024, 3:25 AM
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Suarez escapes

Hernández pops out and the Padres are three outs away from a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. They might want to add some insurance runs here in the bottom of the eighth.

October 9, 2024, 3:24 AM
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The Padres gave up a ton for Tanner Scott (and Bryan Hoeing) at the trade deadline and he's struck out Othani all three times he's faced him in the NLDS. Seems worth the price now.

October 9, 2024, 3:23 AM
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Suarez on for the four-out save

And there's plenty of drama. 

Ohtani strikes out, Betts flies out, but then Freeman singles. The Dodgers have the go-ahead run at the plate and it's the man who hit a grand slam earlier: Teoscar Hernández. This is the first baserunner for the Dodgers since said grand slam. Pinch runner Chris Taylor replaces Freeman on first. 

And it's Robert Suarez time.

Suarez struggled in August and September. He did throw two scoreless innings against the Braves in the Wild Card Series.

October 9, 2024, 3:19 AM
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Tanner Scott vs. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Buckle up. 

October 9, 2024, 3:16 AM
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7th-inning stretch

It's still 6-5 Padres. 

October 9, 2024, 3:03 AM
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I remain baffled that Adam can throw as hard as he does with that arm action.

October 9, 2024, 2:57 AM
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Here comes Jason Adam

The Padres need nine outs. They'll go Adam for three, Scott for three and Suarez for three unless the Dodgers disrupt their plans. It is 6-5 heading to the top of the seventh.

October 9, 2024, 2:56 AM
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Dodgers bullpen

They threw six scoreless innings in Game 1. It was Ryan Brasier, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen.

October 9, 2024, 2:51 AM
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Padres bullpen

There's much ado about the trio of Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez, but Jeremiah Estrada (currently in) struck out 94 in 61 innings. Bryan Hoeing has been great as well.

October 9, 2024, 2:45 AM
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Padres up 6-5 through five

Both starters had one disaster inning (Buehler was hurt by his defense) but has since settled down a bit. This went from a chaos game earlier to a more tense one-run game in the middle innings. This game contains multitudes.

October 9, 2024, 2:40 AM
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Buehler is still in the game in the fifth. Bogaerts is up with two on and two outs. Dave Roberts came out to the mound but did not make a pitching change. He's showing an awful lot of faith in his right-hander.

October 9, 2024, 2:38 AM
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King has retired eight straight since the Teoscar grand slam. He just got through the Ohtani, Betts, Freeman part of the lineup.

October 9, 2024, 2:30 AM
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Ohtani flies out to CF wall

The deep sigh of relief from Petco Park could be heard here in Indiana.

October 9, 2024, 2:26 AM
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Freeman's got his helmet on and is ready to hit. I guess he's staying in.

October 9, 2024, 2:23 AM
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Freeman came up limping after having to stretch to make that catch at first. He's nursing that ankle injury. Let's see if he stays in.

October 9, 2024, 2:22 AM
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Buehler was frustrated in dugout

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler had a bit of a tempter tantrum after that six-run second. 

In all likelihood, that's anger at the situation (getting all those grounders without them turning into outs, Machado's baserunning, etc.) and also at himself for giving up the Tatis bomb. 

October 9, 2024, 2:17 AM
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King answers with a seven-pitch 1-2-3 top of the fourth.

October 9, 2024, 2:16 AM
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Dodgers SS

It should be noted that Rojas had to leave the game, so Tommy Edman moves in to shortstop from center field. 

October 9, 2024, 2:08 AM
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Buehler bounces back with a 1-2-3 third on 10 pitches.

October 9, 2024, 2:08 AM
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Pitching

It's going to be interesting to see how the managers deal with their pitchers. Since it's close, they could always stick with the starters, especially since both teams are likely to need a lot of bullpen tomorrow. Then again, they both had yesterday off, so all the big bullpen guns are good to throw two straight days. 

Buehler is at 45 pitches. King is at 52. 

October 9, 2024, 2:04 AM
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Hernández hits a grand slam

It is a brand new ballgame. Again. Teoscar Hernández of the Dodgers just hit a grand slam to dead center. 

That cuts the Padres lead to 6-5. Holy smokes. It's only the third inning. The top of the third! 

This has the makings of an all-time classic. 

October 9, 2024, 2:01 AM
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Dodgers rallying already

Miguel Rojas, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts have singled to start the third, so the Dodgers have bases loaded, no out. This isn't far from being a close game again.

October 9, 2024, 1:56 AM
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Padres bust it open with six-run second

The Padres have taken a 6-1 lead in the second inning. 

First, the biggest blows. 

David Peralta, who homered last game as part of the Padres HR parade, sent a hard grounder down the first base line for a two-RBI double. 

Fernando Tatis Jr. put the exclamation point on the inning with a two-run bomb to left. 

The inning started with a Manny Machado single up the middle. Jackson Merrill then grounded a potential double-play to first base, but on Freddie Freeman's throw to second, Machado moved in and got the in way, causing an errant throw. Xander Bogaerts then grounded a double-play ball to second, but Miguel Rojas tried to beat Merrill to the bag. He didn't. And Bogaerts beat the throw to first. Everyone was safe and it was 1-1.

Peralta followed with his double. Jake Cronenworth then singled and the Padres had runners at the corners with nobody out. Nine-hole hitter Kyle Higashioka hit a sac fly and the Padres extended their lead to 4-1. Luis Arraez popped out, but then Tatis sent Petco Park into a frenzy. 

The Dodgers have an uphill battle now. They do have seven innings left, though. 

October 9, 2024, 1:40 AM
Oct. 08, 2024, 9:40 pm EDT
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