Steve Webb
Game 16, 4/12/2024: Dodgers 7, Padres 8
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Well, these LA/San Diego games have been nothing if not entertaining this season. Trading roundhouse punches like a couple of prizefighters, the two squads put on a power display at Dodger Stadium on Friday night in the first stateside meeting of the two rivals. Each team hit four homeruns, but struggled to execute with runners in scoring position toward the conclusion of the game. In the end, it was an eleventh inning single by rookie Jackson Merrill that proved to be the difference in the game as the Dodgers fell to the Padres 8-7.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto got the call on this first game of the homestand, pitching on five days’ rest. And to be honest, it wasn’t a great first couple innings. He got hijacked by Manny Machado for a two-run dinger in the first, and then by Ha-Seong Kim for a solo shot in the second. However, that was the extent of the damage against the Dodgers’ prized righty. Yamamoto settled down very nicely after that and ended up going five innings and giving up just those three runs. His line for the night (a no-decision): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. After that disastrous start in South Korea, his ERA is now a respectable 4.50.
When he left the game, Yamamoto was in line for the win, as the Dodgers came to the park with their hitting shoes on in this one. Shohei Ohtani got one run back with a solo shot in the bottom of the first, and Max Muncy hit another in the second to cut the Padres’ lead in half. Then, what looked like the decisive blow of the game. With two out in the same inning, Mookie Betts blasted a no-doubt three-run bomb to left to give the Dodgers a 5-3 lead. And, when Teoscar Hernandez smashed a two-run job in the third to put the home team up 7-3, it looked like the Dodgers were going to coast to an easy win.
Not so fast, said the Padres. Jake Cronenworth went yard off Daniel Hudson in the sixth, and then the Padres put together a big inning off the usually reliable Ryan Brasier and tied the game in the seventh with Fernando Tatis Jr. smacking a two-run blast to even the score.
Joe Kelly and Evan Phillips pitched scoreless frames to get the game to the bottom of the ninth still deadlocked at seven. The big bashers were coming to the plate, but Betts, Ohtani, and Freeman were retired in order, sending the game into extra innings.
Ryan Yarbrough came out of the pen for a rare high-leverage appearance in the tenth, and the guy was great. Facing, Tatis, Cronenworth, and Profar (after a free pass to Machado), he was able to three outs and stranded the gifted runner at second base.
This set up a perfect opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the inning. Will Smith was able to come up with a productive out to move the Manfred Man Freddie Freeman to third. But Teoscar Hernandez struck out on three pitches, setting up a two-out face-off between Friars closer Robert Suarez and Kiké Hernandez. But Kiké flew out to shallow center and the game continued into the eleventh.
The struggling Alex Vesia came on for the eleventh, hoping to come up with a good outing after a rough go of it in Minneapolis. He got the first two outs on a strikeout and a pop-up, but then rookie Jackson Merrill came through with a single to plate the eighth run of the game for the Padres. He was able to escape with no further damage, but the Dodgers needed to answer in the bottom of the inning or the game was over.
On paper, it didn’t look that great. The runner at second was Kiké Hernandez, but it was the bottom of the order coming to bat. Chris Taylor’s struggles continued with a foul out to the first baseman, and Miguel Rojas grounded out to give the Dodgers one last hope: Mookie Betts and the top of the order. Suarez fell behind 3-0, but after Betts looked at a strike down the pipe, Mookie just missed one, flying out to straightaway centerfield. And that was that.
Bummer.
The Dodgers try to undo this little two-game skid (their first of the year) on Saturday with Gavin Stone on the mound. He’ll try to recapture some of that early dominance that he was showing in March, but that has seemed to abandon him of late. He’ll be matched against righty Matt Waldron (0-1, 3.86), so look for manager Dave Roberts to trot out the left-handed bats in this one. First pitch will be 6:10 PST.
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