Steve Webb
Game 41, 5/11/2024: Dodgers 5, Padres 0
SAN DIEGO, CA — You don’t need a ton of hits when one of them is a grand slam. The Dodgers only got five knocks in this one, but they made them count. Teoscar Hernandez, the under-the-radar free agent continues to look like the biggest bargain in baseball this year. On Saturday night, he went yard with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, blowing open a tight game and turning it into a 5-0 Dodgers victory.
In front of the biggest crowd in Petco Park history (46,701), the night started with the Dodgers seemingly breaking out of their funk from Friday’s one-run performance. Freddie Freeman took Padres’ starter Matt Waldron deep in the top of the first, sending a low knuckleball screaming down the right field line for a pole-hugging solo home run.
The Dodgers and Padres traded zeroes for the next five innings. Dodger starting pitcher James Paxton gave up some hard contact during his six innings of work, but most of the balls in play found gloves and it turned out to be one of Paxton’s best outings of the year. Especially impressive, given Paxton’s control trouble this year, was the fact that Paxton didn’t walk anybody on Saturday. His final line for the night: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K.
The big moment in the game came in the top of the sixth. After a Mookie Betts groundout, Waldron walked Shohei Ohtani, and that finished Waldron for the night. Adrian Morejon was the first man out of the pen, and while he got Freddie Freeman on a flyout, he then walked the next two men, Will Smith and Max Muncy. With the bases loaded, the lefty Morejon was removed in favor of right-handed Enyel De Los Santos to face Teoscar Hernandez. At first, it seemed like the move would work, as De Los Santos quickly got ahead of Hernandez 0-2. Then, De Los Santos wasted a slider. His next pitch was also a slider, but this one leaked over the plate a bit and Teoscar pounced. He hit a screaming liner over the fence in left and just like that, the Dodgers were up 5-0.
With a nice lead, the Dodgers used some pieces that they haven’t used in a while to finish up the game. Gus Varland pitched a scoreless seventh, and then Ryan Yarbrough pitched a clean eighth, and J.P. Feyereisen took the ninth to wrap up the victory. All along the way, the Dodger arms were aided by some very solid defense, including sparkling plays from Gavin Lux, James Outman and Max Muncy. Muncy’s diving play on a Jurickson Profar liner was particularly impressive, ending the eighth inning and saving at least a run.
With the series knotted at a game apiece, the Dodgers look to Walker Buehler to deliver the series victory on Sunday afternoon. This Mother’s Day matinee starts at 1:10 PDT as the Boys in Blue face off against former Dodger Yu Darvish. Let’s get this series win, and get on to San Francisco. Do it for Mom!
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