*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
San Diego wins series 3-1
The underdog kids finally pulled it off, they beat the masters. Juan Soto tied the game, Jake Cronenworth drove in the winning run, and the San Diego Padres rallied to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 5-3 victory on Saturday night in San Diego.
Down by 3 runs needing a win to move on, the Padres ripped off 5 unanswered runs, shocking the baseball world. They knocked off the mighty Dodgers and secured their first NLCS trip since 1998. They finally knocked off the archrival Dodgers, a team they've been sparring with for quite some time.
Wil Myers, the current longest tenured Padres player, said that "At some point we had to beat this team in a big moment. This is what we wanted. I’ll tell you what, eight years being here, the ups and the downs, I’ve lost a lot of games to that team up there. This one right here makes it all worth it."
The first two innings went scoreless before a first year Dodger got them on the board. Freddie Freeman doubled to right field, scoring Trea Turner and Mookie Betts to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. They didn't score again until the top of the second, when Will Smith hit a sac fly to bring home Betts and make the lead 3-0 for the Dodgers.
In the bottom of the 7th, Austin Nola got the comeback started for the Padres, hitting an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game. Trent Grisham then scored on an RBI double from Ha-Seong Kim to make it 5-2. Next was Soto, who tied the game with an RBI single that scored Nola. Cronenworth then sent San Diego into bedlam with the go ahead two run single to give them a 5-3 lead.
Padres starter Joe Musgrove talked about the series win, saying "I know the job's not done, we've got a lot of baseball ahead of us still, but this is something that needs to be celebrated. Those guys handed it to us all year long and when it came down to it and we needed to win ballgames we found ways to do it."
Musgrove started the clinching win for the Padres, allowing two runs on 6 hits in 6 innings pitched. Steven Wilson and Tim Hill teamed up to work the 7th, with Hill getting the win. Robert Suarez pitched a shutout 8th, and Josh Hader got the save with a shutout 9th inning, his 3rd of the series.
It was Tyler Anderson on the hill for the Dodgers, pitching 5 shutout innings with 6 strikeouts. Chris Martin pitched the 6th, before Tommy Kahnle allowed 3 runs in the 7th without getting an out. Yency Almonte allowed the other two runs, with Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips also pitching.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the season ending "Shock factor, very high. Disappointment, very high. It’s crushing. Each guy gave everything they had all year long, and a tremendous season. The great thing about baseball is the unpredictability, and the tough thing about it is the same thing. Nothing I can say is going to make it feel any better. Obviously, we didn’t expect to be in this position."
Up next, the Padres advance to the NLCS, hosting the Philadelphia Phillies for game one on Tuesday night in San Diego. Neither team has announced a starter yet.
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