The Padres had their chances, but in the end it was Alexis Díaz who slammed the door and helped the Dodgers snap a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 win Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The series opener carried all the weight of a September playoff preview, with San Diego entering tied with Los Angeles atop the NL West.
By the end of the night, both teams stood at 69-53, with the Dodgers reminding the Padres that the division crown won’t come easily. San Diego struck first in the second inning when Ramón Laureano launched a solo homer down the left-field line. It was his 18th of the season and second since arriving at the trade deadline from Baltimore, giving the Padres early momentum.
But Clayton Kershaw, at 37 and fresh off knee and foot surgeries, quickly settled in. The three-time Cy Young winner allowed just one run over six innings, striking out four and walking none on 76 pitches. The Dodgers turned the game in the third. With Michael Conforto on third, Shohei Ohtani grounded out to tie the score.
The Dodgers defeated the Padres, led by their future Hall of Famer
Moments later, Mookie Betts lifted a sacrifice fly to center, bringing home Alex Freeland for a 2-1 lead. In the seventh, Teoscar Hernández added insurance with a 400-foot solo shot to straightaway center, his 19th of the year, making it 3-1.
With Michael King sidelined on the injured list, San Diego turned to a bullpen game. Wandy Peralta, Randy Vásquez, Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui, and Mason Miller combined to cover eight innings. Aside from Hernández’s blast, the group held firm, keeping the Padres in striking distance.
Their chance came in the eighth. Alex Vesia lost command, plunking Jose Iglesias and Jake Cronenworth before walking Fernando Tatis Jr. Luis Arraez cut the deficit with a sacrifice fly, but Blake Treinen came in and induced a pop-up from Manny Machado to escape the jam.
That left the ninth to Díaz, who has steadied the Dodgers’ bullpen since arriving in July. The former All-Star closer struck out two in a clean frame, with rookie Jack Dreyer finishing it off for his second save. “It was a high-intensity game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We pitched really well, and we needed every bit of it.”
San Diego’s stars couldn’t deliver, as Tatis, Arraez, Machado, and Xander Bogaerts went a combined 0-for-14. Rookie Jackson Merrill supplied two hits, but the Padres fell to 2-6 against the Dodgers this season.
With five more head-to-head matchups over the next nine days, the division race remains wide open. For one night, though, Kershaw’s poise and Díaz’s power gave Los Angeles the edge and the fans something to buzz about again.
