Gulp. Sigh. Rattling. It’s occurring once more.
For the second time in three postseasons, the Dodgers confirmed up at San Diego’s Petco Park on a cool October evening brimming with confidence, driving on emotion, stung by skepticism, prepared for revenge.
And as soon as once more, they’re consuming it.
This wipeout isn’t but as spectacular because the beautiful crush of two Octobers in the past, however give it time.
As soon as once more, after dropping Recreation 3 of the Nationwide League Division Sequence to the San Diego Padres, 6-5, the Dodgers discover themselves on the point of an all-too-familiar destiny.
Learn extra: Dodgers cannot overcome disastrous inning in NLDS Recreation 3 loss to Padres
Another loss, they usually end a baseball-best season flat on their face.
Another loss, and greater than a billion {dollars} is bloodied and bruised and crawling into winter.
Another loss, and the Dodgers have as soon as once more suffered the worst of fates towards the worst of opponents, as soon as once more crushed by an obnoxious little brother that’s every part they’re not.
These preening, petulant, rattling good San Diego Padres.
The southern rivals lead the best-of-five collection two video games to at least one, with the ending presumably — most likely? — occurring Wednesday evening in a Recreation 4 that can characteristic Padres ace Dylan Stop going through a bunch of Dodger relievers.
Doesn’t sound promising.
“We have to win tomorrow evening to then choose up the items for Recreation 5,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “I do not know the way that is going to look.”
Couldn’t look a lot worse than it appears to be like now.
In a Recreation 3 ringing with “Beat L.A.” chants and thick with an encore power carried over from the Recreation 2 maelstrom, the Padres introduced the depth whereas the Dodgers surrendered it.
The Padres scored six runs within the second inning towards a messy Dodgers protection and that was that. Except for a grand slam swing by Teoscar Hernández, the Dodgers did little to interact within the battle.
They have been alleged to nonetheless be livid at how the Padres had showboated their strategy to a Recreation 2 victory that incited Dodger Stadium followers into idiocy, proper?
Fallacious. They didn’t act mad, meekly banging out six hits towards 5 Padres pitchers and never scoring after the third inning.
They have been alleged to defend Roberts’ honor after Padre Manny Machado threw a baseball at him in Recreation 2, proper?
Fallacious. They have been tentative from the second starter Walker Buehler was assessed a pitch-clock violation whereas going through Machado within the second inning, Buehler finally struggling like all Dodger starters battle, yielding six runs in 5 innings.
“Yeah, not a fantastic state of affairs,” Roberts mentioned.
So as to add insult to embarrassment, the Padres didn’t retaliate for the Dodger followers showering their gamers with bottles and baseballs in Recreation 2. The Padres followers have been, as a substitute, the portrait of power and sportsmanship, roaring and waving yellow towels till lastly howling themselves hoarse when Tanner Scott struck out Shohei Ohtani trying within the eighth inning to finish the Dodgers’ greatest final likelihood.
Talking of which, Ohtani struck out twice and managed only one broken-bat single in a second consecutive recreation throughout which he has appeared very human. Regardless of giving up his game-changing homer in Recreation 1, the Padres clearly aren’t afraid of Ohtani. They’re not afraid of anyone.
However, nonetheless, extra has been anticipated of Superman.
“I feel that the second is definitely not getting too massive for him,” mentioned Roberts, defending his star. ”I feel they’re making some good pitches. Clearly he had a very good Recreation 1 and was stored considerably at bay… I feel that he is nonetheless in a very good place. He’ll be able to hit a mistake.”
So the best participant in baseball historical past is now a mistake hitter? The Dodgers’ instant future actually has gotten unruly.
And to assume, the sport started with a house run from — you are not going to imagine this — Mookie Betts! This was a man who was 0 for six on this collection and three for 44 relationship again 12 playoff video games, a man who had a homer stolen by Jurickson Profar in Recreation 2, a man who thought it had occurred once more Tuesday when Profar dove into the left-field nook stands once more.
Learn extra: Shaikin: How ‘Beat L.A.’ grew to become entrenched within the Dodgers-Padres rivalry lexicon
Betts was so positive Profar had stolen one other one, he headed towards the dugout earlier than reaching second base when Profar got here up empty-handed and the blast grew to become a actuality.
It was the Dodgers’ solely actual good shock of the evening. The Dodgers appeared to lose this on the spot mojo earlier than the underside of the second inning even started with that pitch-clock violation, and it solely received worse.
Machado singled up the center, then compelled an error when he ran contained in the baseline on a grounder to Freddie Freeman and Freeman’s throw to second glanced off his helmet and into left subject, setting the stage for a Xander Bogaerts grounder that Miguel Rojas caught however stumbled trying to begin a double play, permitting a run to attain.
Then David Peralta doubled down the right-field line to attain two runs, a Kyle Higashioka fly ball scored one other run, then Fernando Tatis Jr. crushed a house run to deep left subject to make it six runs.
“There have been simply balls that we simply did not convert into outs. And it builds the stress within the inning,” mentioned Roberts, later including, “Once you give a very good group further outs it is laborious to throw up zeros.”
Trailing 6-1, the Dodgers appeared overwhelmed virtually earlier than the sport began, and even Hernández’s third-inning granny couldn’t change that.
So right here the Dodgers sit once more, on the precipice of large failure, in the identical place they have been in 2022 after they misplaced this collection to the Padres in 4 video games, and almost the identical place they have been final season after they have been swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“So far as type of successful a ball recreation tomorrow, I feel we’re in a extremely great place,” mentioned the ever optimistic Roberts.
For Dodger followers nonetheless ready for his or her first full-season championship in 36 years, it’s by no means seemed worse.
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This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Occasions.
