Padres Steal One In Hollywood

Playoff baseball is just beautiful, isn't it? All accomplishments done in the regular season fade away as fanbases do not care if that regular success does not result into postseason success. Take the Mets for example. So when the Padres and Dodgers were set to face on another in the NLDS, baseball fans and "experts" have been giving the Dodgers a 'favorable outcome' in this series due to past dominance. However, once the postseason rolls around, it is a brand new ballgame.

Jake Cronenworth (right) celebrates with Wil Myers (left) after hitting a home run that gave the Padres some insurance with a 5-3 lead in the eighth inning in Game 2 against the Dodgers. Credit to The Morning Sun for this image.

Let's face it. It is no easy task to play a NLDS series against a team that has been dominating your squad for the past two seasons. In addition to that, the Dodgers broke a franchise record despite injuries in somehow recording 111 wins. But with the postseason underway and being viewed as underdogs yet again, anything is possible.

The NDLS opener was not a pretty one for sure however, the Padres did not give up and kept on fighting despite the loss. That can play a huge role now in which I can explain. Mike Clevinger, who came off the injured list and was placed on the postseason roster, was unfortunately disappointing right away. Just the second batter faced, Clevinger gave up a solo home run to Trea Turner which was a stinger. A Muncy RBI single that brought in Smith gave the Dodgers a early 2-0 advantage. The issue here for Clevinger who gave up five runs (four earned)? He was nitpicking the strike zone and pitching around Dodger hitters. Clevinger threw a total of 60 pitches in just 2.2 innings. 32 for strikes as 28 for balls. A Dodgers team that does not chase outside the zone is in the drivers seat at this point. With such pure hitters, either they would. walk or record a hit as Clevinger had to fight the count back in his favor if possible. So the starting pitcher was just not having himself a good night in which Clevinger even stated.

For the Dodgers and starting pitcher Julio Urias, he has had great success against this Padres lineup except for Manny Machado. Cruising through the first few innings, it was not until a Wil Myers solo blast in the fifth inning that broke the goose egg on the score board, cutting the deficit to 5-1 Los Angeles. Next thing you know, a RBI groundout and sacrifice fly by both Grisham and Nola suddenly make the score 5-3. Unfortunately, there was no more magic after that fifth inning in which the Padres lost a tough battle. At this time, you are hoping to split the series on the road rather than having to face a possible elimination game at home in front of an electric Friar Faithful crowd since 2006.

Shifting to Game 2. Soon to be Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw versus September Pitcher of the Month, Yu Darvish. Let's just say this game resulted in a rollercoaster of emotions. Three times in just the first three innings were the two teams clashing back and forth either taking the lead or tying the game. Kershaw's father Manny Machado opened things up in the first inning with a solo home run to put the Padres up 1-0. Bottom of the first and Freddie Freeman gets his turn in hitting a solo blast. Muncy gives another baseball a ride and puts Los Angeles up and eventually Machado comes through again by getting a RBI double knot it at two. Back and forth they go until the Padres gained steady ground. Profar gave San Diego the lead in the sixth and the bullpen came to play. Well, Robert Suarez carried that game like no other. Coming in with no outs and runners on the corners, Suarez got a huge strikeout on Turner and a beautiful double play that was a miracle to watch to get out of the jam unscathed. Suarez has arguably been our most dominant reliever besides Nick Martinez in a very talented bullpen. Let's hope he stays with San Diego in 2023.

Are you looking for insurance? Call Jake from Rake farm! No better way to get your first hit in the 2022 postseason by hitting an insurance home run that gave the Padres a two-run cushion late. Into the Cronezone it went as Cronenworth had reliever Blake Treinen pay for his pitch low in the zone. Cronenworth knew his 416-foot bomb was a good one as he pimped it and got the Padres dugout in a frenzy in the eighth inning. Now it was all about getting those final six outs to shock the Dodgers. Nick Martinez who did not pitch since Game 2 against the Mets in the Wild Card got pulled after giving up a hit to Gavin Lux with two outs. Manager Bob Melvin did not hesitate to bring in Josh Hader for the final four outs.

Before this game, Hader has not pitched for a four out save opportunity since 2020. Backup catcher Austin Barnes who pinch hit for Bellinger flew out to center for the final out in the eighth. The Padres meat of the order could not tack on more runs but Hader was ready with his fastball in command. With the Dodgers heart of the order due up, Hader had Betts fly out to left, got Turner to strikeout swinging and made the game interesting with much pressure after giving up a double to Freeman with one out remaining. Fortunately, Will Smith flied out to Juan Soto for the final out and San Diego made this a whole new series. Rather than facing an elimination game, the Padres go to Petco Park with momentum. A 1-1 series tie now and the Dodgers in back-to-back games have used their bullpen the Dave Roberts way. Relying too much with the starters not going deep into games.

Now for Game 3 coming up, Blake Snell who has had so much dominance against the Dodgers lineup will face Tony Gonsolin. Snell is coming off a rough outing against the Mets in which he had no command giving up six walks however, Snell can easily show up back to his prime self like he has this year. As for Gonsolin who had an unbelieveavle first half, he has suffered injuries the second half of the season and could be on a short start watch with a low pitch count. With that possibility, that means the Dodgers bullpen will be overworked even more. No time to waste here. Chase the starter out early and make the Dodgers pen who has been the best in baseball tired and pay for their mistakes. Game 4 is not official but it looks to be LHP Tyler Anderson (15-5 W-L, 2.57 ERA in regular season) against Joe Musgrove who was brilliant against New York. (10-7 W-L, 2.93 ERA in regular season.) It is going to be great but it would be even greater to see the hometown kid close out the series in four games rather than going back to Los Angeles. Let's capture the moment Friar Faithful!