SAN DIEGO – It would be difficult to describe the Dodgers’ outlook heading into Game 4 of the NLDS as anything other than bleak. San Diego took all the momentum from the series by winning Game 2 and took it into their own building to win a pivotal Game 3. After winning big after big in the previous two games, the light on this Los Angeles team was starting to go out.
To make matters worse, in a series lacking quality starting pitchers, their bullpen faced off against one of the league’s best starters, Dylan Cease, to determine if the Dodgers would have a chance to try to extend their season at home. in Game. 5 or watch their division rivals celebrate by sending them packing.
But with their season on the line and their backs against the wall, something happened Wednesday in San Diego: The Dodgers finally found their fight.
“We’re a group of fighters,” Mookie Betts said after his team’s 8-0 victory in Game 4. “We’re a group of fighters and we knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”
It would have been easy for the Dodgers to quit after taking multiple punches in the mouth from a Padres team that has been giving them the fight since Game 1. To add insult to injury, or rather the other way around, first point guard Freddie Freeman was removed 90 minutes before first pitch, leaving the Los Angeles lineup. scrambled and without cornerstone.
The Dodgers made no excuses, however.
During the first two games of this series, Betts’ struggles at the plate became evident. Riding a 22-0 postseason streak heading into Game 3, you could tell things were starting to weigh on the Dodgers superstar. But his home run early in Game 3 might have been just the boost he and his teammates were waiting for.
In the first inning of Game 4, Betts got the Los Angeles lineup back on track, with a solo shot into the Padres bullpen that gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I think I just needed to see one go down and get a little confidence,” Betts said after the game. “I know my team did an incredible job trying to instill confidence in me.”
But in this one, the Dodgers right fielder didn’t have to do all the heavy lifting. The Dodgers got multi-hit nights from Betts, Teoscar Hernández, Gavin Lux and Kike Hernández, and eight of their nine starters had hits in the game.
LA scored early and in clusters, adding two runs in the second inning, two more in the third and three in the seventh to put the Padres away. The Dodgers hadn’t held a lead of more than three runs at any point in this series, but when they needed it most, they opened the floodgates.
“When you go through a regular season, a lot of things are calculated and there are a lot of variables because you’re playing with a longer view,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “But when you get to the postseason, it’s a street fight. These are players, and your desire has to be more than your opponent’s.
“And for me, seeing our guys go through what they’ve been through and respond the way they’ve really excited me for Game 5.”
No matter the circumstances, the Dodgers’ offense is their best weapon and a formidable foe, but if this team was going to force a Game 5 and live to fight another day, it also needed a strong performance on the mound for the first time in this season. series. Going for a bullpen game in Game 4 probably wasn’t anyone’s first choice in trying to save the team’s season, but it’s what they had to do.
And not only did the “Johnny Wholestaff” approach work, it also produced the Dodgers’ best pitching performance so far this postseason. Starter Ryan Brasier, Anthony Banda, Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson, Blake Treinen and Landon Knack combined to pitch nine scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and two walks en route to the team’s first shutout. in the postseason. The Dodgers bullpen has thrown 12 consecutive scoreless innings, including three to end their Game 3 loss on Tuesday.
“They were fantastic,” said catcher Will Smith, who contributed a home run in the third. “Attack the zone, get the guys away. And put nine zeros: we needed it tonight. So thanks to those guys for keeping us in it.”
The Herculean efforts of the Dodgers bullpen prepared them for Game 5 on Friday at Dodger Stadium. While Roberts did not announce the team’s plans for the winner-take-all contest, Los Angeles will have Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty available, as well as a day off to rest the bullpen. The team hopes the extra day of rest will also allow Freeman to return to the lineup with the season and a trip to the NLCS on the line.
The Dodgers have played a lot of postseason baseball in recent years, and their experience in high-pressure situations has given them the ability, as cliché as it may be, to take it one game at a time. With this series now tied and momentum tilting in their favor as they head back to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have a real chance to do what many thought they couldn’t.
“We knew what we were about to do,” Betts said. “We knew the challenge we had to face, but we all enjoyed it.”
