LOS ANGELES — From late March in South Korea to the early days of October in San Diego, Mike Shildt assembled a compelling candidacy for Nationwide League Supervisor of the Yr. The Padres below his first-year management withstood a middling first half, weathered important accidents and a drastic payroll discount, and went on a tear to recollect after the All-Star break.
Saturday at Dodger Stadium, below the magnifying glass of a division sequence towards a blueblood opponent and the most effective participant on the planet, Shildt made a transfer that — honest or not — was a much less optimistic reminiscence.
The chain of occasions that helped swing a 7-5 come-from-ahead loss to the Dodgers started within the backside of the fourth after starter Dylan Stop allowed consecutive one-out singles to the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters. That introduced Shohei Ohtani to the plate, two innings after the probably Nationwide League MVP clubbed a three-run homer that set off a minor earthquake in Chavez Ravine.
Shildt opted to carry Stop for Adrian Morejon, organising a left-on-left matchup. The change nearly produced the specified outcome; on a full depend, Morejon threw a 98.4 mph fastball that jammed Ohtani and broke his bat. Virtually.
“Morejon completely made a phenomenal pitch and blew him up,” Shildt stated. “And he obtained one into middle subject.”
Mookie Betts scores on a single by Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández off reliever Jeremiah Estrada. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Photos)
In a figurative sense, after Ohtani’s bases-loading bloop, the supervisor’s subsequent maneuver didn’t precisely blow up. Nevertheless it didn’t work exactly as hoped, both.
Morejon pulled a splitter properly inside on an 0-2 depend towards perennial MVP candidate Mookie Betts. Then he pulled one other. This time, the ball obtained away from catcher Kyle Higashioka — a run scored from third, chopping the Padres’ result in one. With first base open and the depend 2-2, Shildt ordered an intentional stroll of Betts. That introduced an ailing, lefty-swinging Freddie Freeman to the plate for a possible double play.
“Mookie towards lefties just isn’t going to hit floor balls,” Shildt stated afterward. “He’s not going to strike out just about. And he’s going to stroll. So, now you may sit there and say, ‘Let’s tap-dance round him.’ No, let’s go to Freddie with Morejon, who throws 50 p.c ground-ball price towards lefties.”
The numbers a minimum of partially supported Shildt’s rationalization. Going through a 2-2 depend within the common season, Betts hit a floor ball 33.7 p.c of the time. He walked (22 occasions) almost as usually as he struck out (24 occasions).
Towards left-handers within the common season, Freeman hit a floor ball 42.3 p.c of the time. Saturday, Shildt additionally had this to contemplate: The Dodgers first baseman was taking part in with a just lately sprained ankle.
Within the backside of the fourth, Shildt caught with an attention-grabbing selection regardless of the actual fact Freeman already had singled twice and shocked the Padres by stealing a base. And the gambit almost paid off.
Freeman hit a first-pitch floor ball within the normal course of Donovan Solano. The primary baseman gloved it and, with no teammate significantly near the bag for a double-play try, made a powerful, cross-body throw to house plate to simply beat the runner from third. Shildt went to the mound and summoned Jeremiah Estrada from the bullpen, organising a right-on-right matchup towards Dodgers cleanup hitter Teoscar Hernández.
Two pitches later, Hernández laced a single to middle subject, the ball deflected off the glove of Jackson Merrill, and two Dodgers crossed the plate — together with Betts with the go-ahead rating. Los Angeles by no means trailed once more.
“The entire inning was not proper the place we needed it, however performed the way in which we mainly needed it in that sense,” Shildt stated. “And Ohtani flared one in. The bottom ball wasn’t at anyone from Freddie. Solano makes an excellent play, will get the drive at house.
“We’ve obtained Estrada, who we like so much. And we like a righty on Hernández. And, to his credit score, he put a swing and introduced in two runs.”
Saturday was not the primary time Shildt ordered an intentional stroll with two strikes. On Sept. 17, with a runner on third in a tie recreation, reliever Jason Adam had a full depend towards Houston’s Kyle Tucker. Shildt determined to place Tucker on first base, later pointing to Tucker’s propensity for placing the ball in play. The Astros ended up scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Adam. The Padres re-tied the sport however finally misplaced in extras.
Lower than three weeks later, within the aftermath of a series-opening defeat, there was extra to dissect than one fourth-inning sequence.
The Padres, for the third time this season, jumped Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto for a number of first-inning runs. Then, for the third time in as many postseason video games, they struggled to generate something towards an opposing bullpen.
“After Yamamoto went out, I really feel like they introduced guys in that simply executed pitches, they usually weren’t afraid of attacking,” Padres proper fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. stated. “Yeah, they silenced our bats for many of the recreation.”
Stop acknowledged after the sport that his imprecision towards the underside of the Dodgers’ order “form of killed me.” He stated he was not shocked that Shildt didn’t permit him to face Ohtani a 3rd time.
“I let the runners on earlier than him, and these are must-win video games,” Stop stated. “I feel if I used to be executing extra constantly, possibly I in all probability get that probability, but it surely simply wasn’t at present.”
Till they show in any other case, the Padres are one in every of many groups that has not discovered a constant answer for Ohtani, who’s adopted within the Dodgers’ order by two different potential Corridor of Famers.
“Pay attention, he’s a great participant,” Shildt stated. “Clearly, he’s finished some fairly particular issues this yr. I be ok with — it’s nearly execution. You’ve obtained to be even finer towards actually good gamers. However we’ve actually good gamers, too.”
A few of that expertise was on show Saturday. Third baseman Manny Machado, with a three-run homer within the high of the primary, broke a tie with Tony Gwynn atop the Padres’ all-time postseason RBIs leaderboard. Tatis continued to star in his first postseason in entrance of followers, scorching a 118.9 mph double for the hardest-hit ball of his profession. 4 batters later, veteran infielder Xander Bogaerts lined a two-run go-ahead double. Merrill, with a pair of hard-earned walks, continued to display a precocious mix of expertise and talent.
But, as so usually occurs this time of yr, an unforgiving highlight discovered a supervisor and his bullpen strikes. Shildt, starting within the backside of the fourth, expended 4 high-leverage relievers — first in an try to protect a lead after which to chase a win.
Time will quickly inform whether or not a fourth-inning intentional stroll is remembered as a expensive choice or as a footnote in a comeback story. To advance, the Padres should win three of 4 video games or sweep the subsequent three. Going through the identical Dodgers franchise, they pulled off the latter feat two Octobers in the past, creating the fondest of reminiscences.
It’s additionally only a reminiscence.
“I imply, it’s a distinct yr,” Machado stated. “We simply obtained to go on the market and attempt to win tomorrow. We’ve been having that mindset all yr. You understand, put this one behind us and are available again tomorrow and compete.”
(Photograph of Adrian Morejon and Mike Shildt: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Photos)
