SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers got here into this four-game set towards the Padres at Petco Park, understanding that San Diego was going to lift its stage of play. That’s what normally occurs in these matchups. The Dodgers, at occasions, didn’t match that vitality final season.
The 2023 Dodgers, nevertheless, whereas not as gifted as final 12 months’s workforce, do have the flexibility to lift their depth when wanted. That’s precisely what occurred throughout a five-run eighth inning that carried them to a 10-5 victory on Friday night time.
Struggling to determine Yu Darvish for seven innings, the Dodgers needed to wait to get into the San Diego bullpen earlier than placing in a giant manner.
“It’s a resilient club,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “It was a tale of two games offensively. First six innings were sort of lifeless. Credit to Yu. But after that, we picked up.”
Kiké Hernández opened the eighth with a single off Robert Suarez. Mookie Betts then walked, setting the stage for Freddie Freeman, who got here into the sequence swinging a red-hot bat. But Freeman hit a flare to quick and Will Smith struck out, leaving it as much as David Peralta to be the hero.
With the Dodgers trailing by a run, Peralta was capable of come by with a two-out, two-strike double off Suarez to tie the sport at three. Following Peralta’s large knock, the Dodgers’ dugout erupted in celebration.
“That’s what we’ve been doing all year. Putting together at-bats, a team approach,” Peralta mentioned. “That was a huge inning for us. We got the opportunity to score some runs, and that’s what we did. That’s what it’s all about. That’s a team win. Celebrate today and then we’re going to be ready for tomorrow to do the same thing.”
Chris Taylor and J.D. Martinez continued the rally with back-to-back bases-loaded walks to present the Dodgers a 5-3 lead. Then it was Amed Rosario who delivered the large blow, a two-run single off left-hander Tom Cosgrove to double the lead.
“We hung in there,” Roberts mentioned. “We kept it a ballgame, and then we got to Suarez, which was big. And then we got to the lefty, Cosgrove. It was just great to see our guys use the whole field. You know, Rosario has done it a couple nights in a row. David continues to come up with big hits. Situationally, I thought we were really good tonight.”
Coming up with large hits wasn’t the one factor the Dodgers did nicely on Friday. They have been capable of put collectively fairly the spotlight reel defensively.
The Padres normally play their finest after they have momentum on their aspect, however within the first inning James Outman made certain to zap the vitality out of the constructing with among the best catches of his younger profession.
With a runner on first, Fernando Tatis Jr. jumped on a Bobby Miller fastball and gave it a trip to middle subject. Outman, who additionally homered and stole a base, instantly put his head down and tracked the ball. As he acquired close to the wall, Outman leaped up and made a spectacular catch earlier than banging into the outfield wall. Miller, who went simply 3 2/3 innings on Friday, was ready to make use of that catch to get out of the primary inning with out permitting a run.
“It felt good. Felt good to stack plays,” Outman mentioned. “You got to get a ball you can make a good play on and you’ve got to get a good pitch to hit.”
With the win on Friday the Dodgers improved to 6-1 towards the Padres this 12 months, giving them 28 wins prior to now 34 regular-season matchups. Overall, the Dodgers have now received 4 consecutive video games after dropping two house sequence to the Blue Jays and Reds, respectively.
While they didn’t make a giant splash on the Trade Deadline on Tuesday, they proceed to indicate they’ve assembled a gaggle that may, as soon as once more, be anticipated to make a deep run in October.
“We have a great group of guys,” Peralta mentioned. “The new pieces and everything. And it makes this team better. So we got good things to do.”
Content Source: www.mlb.com