*Photo from Sportsnet*
Los Angeles leads series 1-0
One of baseball's best rivalries is back in business in the postseason. Trea Turner homered, Will Smith doubled in a run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres with a 5-3 victory on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers-Padres rivalry has been the source of some great entertainment in recent seasons, and this is the second time in 3 years that they've squared off in the NLDS, after the Dodgers swept the Padres in the 2020 NLDS. Much like the 2020 edition, the Dodgers came out on top in this one, riding their offense to victory.
Entering the playoffs after a dominant 111 win season, the Dodgers showed no signs of rust despite a first round bye, while the Padres had to go through the New York Mets in the wild card round. 4 different hitters recorded one RBI in the Dodgers latest win, their first of the postseason.
Turner said of the matchup with the Padres that "We’ve seen a lot of them lately, especially in the last month or so. Kind of knew what to expect. Still have to execute and still have to get the results, but I think we just were ourselves and didn’t give anything away."
In the first inning, Turner got the scoring started almost immediately, hitting a solo home run to left field, putting the Dodgers ahead 1-0. Max Muncy hit an RBI single later in the inning to make it 2-0. In the 3rd, the lead became 4-0 on RBI doubles from Smith and Gavin Lux, plus Muncy scoring on a fielding error.
The 5th inning saw the Padres attempt their comeback. Wil Myers started it off, hitting a solo home run to center field, making it a 5-1 game. Jake Cronenworth came around to score on a groundout from Trent Grisham, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Ha-Seong Kim then scored on a sac fly from Austin Nola, making it a 5-3 game, but the Padres couldn't push any more runs over the plate.
Starting the series opener for the Dodgers was Julio Urias, who allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, striking out 6 hitters in 5 innings pitched. A chorus of 4 relievers shut out the Padres, with Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol, and Chris Martin doing the job, with Martin getting the save.
Urias gave his thoughts on the game, saying that "We have to give a lot of credit to our offense. They did a good job battling, getting those runs early and putting us in a good spot to win."
It was Mike Clevinger who started for the Padres, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits while lasting just 2 2/3 innings. Steven Wilson pitched the next 1 1/3 innings, with Pierce Johnson adding two innings of his own. Tim Hill and Nick Martinez added scoreless innings at the end of the game.
San Diego 3rd baseman Manny Machado said of the loss that "We came up a little short. We'll bounce back tomorrow. You at least want to take one on the road. We'll put this one behind us and come out tomorrow, keep competing like we've been doing all year."
Up next, game two of the series is on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Yu Darvish starts for the Padres as they look to tie the series, while Clayton Kershaw goes for the Dodgers.
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