Scherzer twirls a gem as Dodgers sweep Padres

SAN DIEGO — It will be a very contented drive up the 5 Freeway on Thursday night. At a time when wins were needed more than ever, the Dodgers went into Petco Park and punched the San Diego Padres in the mouth, gaining a sweep in this crucial series. The cherry on the top of the three-game set came with Max Scherzer‘s masterful performance in the finale. Mad Max went 7.2 innings of shutout ball and showed why he has those three Cy Youngs on the mantel. And, to back him up, the Dodgers got on the board early and were never really challenged in a 4-0 victory in San Diego.

Dodgers get to Darvish in the third

Yu Darvish, who has had an up-and-down season for the Padres, got the start on Thursday night. It was his first game off the IL with back issues, and to be honest he hasn’t pitched that great for a while now. However, he did all right on Thursday, pitching two scoreless innings out of the gate, and looking pretty good while he was doing it. However, the Dodgers broke through in the top of the third. Darvish walked Billy McKinney to lead off the inning, which is never a good way to start an inning against the Dodgers. McKinney was in the game at first base for only the fourth time in his career, but he was giving Max Muncy some well deserved rest after Muncy had played the entirety of Wednesday’s marathon game.

Barnes goes the Will Smith route with a big homer

With McKinney on first, Austin Barnes came up, again spelling a player who’d put in double duty behind the plate in the previous game, Will Smith. Taking advantage of a rare start, Barnes waited on a Darvish breaking ball that hung a bit, and ripped it hard. He smacked the ball over the left centerfield fence and the Dodgers were on the board, 2-0.

Turner and Seager tack on

The visitors weren’t done in the inning. After Max Scherzer was retired at the bottom of the order, Trea Turner pummeled a cutter for a double to left. Corey Seager followed up with a double of his own, and the speedy Turner scampered home with the Dodgers’ third run of the inning.

Scherzer cruises

Now pitching with the lead, Scherzer attacked. Throwing a ton of pitches that started out looking like strikes until a sharp late break out of the zone, Scherzer got a lot of swings and misses all up and down the lineup. The only hits that Scherzer surrendered were a couple of doubles in separate innings, neither of which advanced past second base. The big hold in the game came in the fifth, after the double off the bat of Trent Grisham. Scherzer then hit Jurickson Profar and the suddenly the ace was in a two-on, nobody-out jam.

However, his defense bailed him out. After Scherzer struck out Ha-Seong Kim, Victor Caratini hit a hot shot to third that could have been trouble for the sometimes unreliable Dodger defense. However, not this night. Justin Turner made a nice stab of a high hop and then whipped it to Trea Turner covering the second base bag. Tuner made a nice turn to Billy McKinney at first and the 5-4-3 double play ended the inning, and effectively ended the Padres’ chances against Scherzer.

For the rest of his outing, Scherzer was never really challenged and when he walked off the mound with two-out in the eighth inning it was to a standing ovation of the Dodger fans who’d made the trip down south. Scherzer’s line for the night: 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 10 K. It was the fourth solid outing by Scherzer in a Dodger uniform, as he lowered his LA ERA to 1.55. Shane Greene and Joe Kelly cleaned up the rest of the game for him, as the worn-out bullpen had a quiet night in the finale.

No ground gained. Back to LA for six games.

The Mets (poor devils) were absolutely no help at all to the Dodgers’ chances, as they managed to get swept themselves by the Giants. And so, after a three-game sweep of their own, the Dodgers remain 2 1/2 games out of first place. However, with the notoriously terrible on the road Rockies coming into town for the weekend, there could be a chance to pick up some ground in the next few days. Ideally, the Dodgers want to keep it within three games before the Labor Day weekend series at Oracle Park, so that if the Dodgers sweep, they can leave San Francisco in first place. But first, we’ve got the Rockies to worry about. And then the Braves. Should be a rockin’ homestand.