LOS ANGELES – No one knew which version of the Dodgers would appear in Game 1 of the NLDS. The Padres, who had just swept the Atlanta Braves in the wild card round, had a lot of juice and came into this series with a quiet but palpable arrogance. Los Angeles, on the other hand, was looking for its own.
With the Dodgers announcing that veteran ace Clayton Kershaw would be sidelined for the remainder of the season and first baseman Freddie Freeman’s status unknown due to a recent sprained ankle, the vibe was not great heading into the first. Saturday launch.
They didn’t improve during a three-run first inning by the Padres, and when Manny Machado’s towering two-run shot gave San Diego an early 3-0 lead, it was felt not only that the tone of the game but also the tone of this series had been set. The Dodgers needed to respond…and quickly.
One inning later, thanks to the bat of Shohei Ohtani, they did it.
Throughout this season of injuries and unknowns with their starting staff, what the Dodgers have always been able to count on is their ability to succeed. And in its 7-5 victory over the Padres in Game 1, Los Angeles’ star-studded lineup sent an essential message: This team, no matter how injured, should not be underestimated.
In the second inning, the Dodgers put two men on the line and you could feel the energy in the stadium starting to hum. Ohtani then walked to the plate, looking to give his team the boost it desperately needed.
And in one swing, he did it, smashing a 97 mph fastball for an arguably game-tying three-run home run. When Ohtani tossed his bat aside and let out a scream on the way to first base, it was clear he had flipped the Padres’ script.
“It just gave us momentum back and gave us life,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “And I think from the first pitch, the fans just got involved, participated. …I felt that energy. And I think Shohei feeds off of that.”
Said Ohtani: “I’m really happy to be able to tie the game in that situation and to be able to get a hit against a really good pitcher. (Padres starter Dylan Cease) is one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes… I was able to get to (the fastball) and I was happy to be able to do that.”
“Listen, he’s a good player,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of Ohtani. “He’s obviously done some very special things this year. I just think it’s about execution. You have to be even better against really good players.”
The Padres responded with two more runs in the third inning, but it doesn’t matter. It was as if, thanks to that Ohtani hit, the Los Angeles lineup had renewed confidence, with the crowd now energized, alert and unflappable.
In the fourth, LA managed to regain the lead. Three consecutive singles by Tommy Edman, Miguel Rojas and Ohtani, followed by a wild pitch, stopped another Dodgers run. Then came an intentional walk by Mookie Betts and a groundout by Freddie Freeman before Teoscar Hernandez scored a two-run single, making it a 6-5 game and putting the Dodgers on top for good.
“It’s really hard for a playoff team to come in and feel comfortable in the first game of the postseason, especially after a long layoff,” Ohtani said afterward. “But I think everyone really contributed today: the whole team, especially the bullpen.”
The bullpen actually delivered for Los Angeles, pitching six scoreless innings after Yamamoto allowed five earned runs in his three innings of work.
“I appreciate and love the support,” said Yamamoto, who was making his MLB postseason debut and just his fifth start since returning from a shoulder injury. “I’m very happy that in the end we won as a team.”
With Ohtani as a spark, the Dodgers started this series against San Diego strong. What could have been a punch in the gut for the Padres turned into a home win, one they were able to secure even without a strong performance from their starter.
Make no mistake: This Dodgers team is built on offense, and in Game 1, they showed exactly how they won 98 games in the regular season and exactly why, even without consistent pitching, this lineup has a chance every night. . Ohtani, Betts and Freemen get a lot of the hype, but Saturday’s win showed the depth of Los Angeles’ lineup when it’s firing on all cylinders. Six of the Dodgers’ nine starters recorded hits in the game, four of them recorded multiples, and every starter reached base at least once.
“It’s hard not to panic when you’re behind, especially, you know, in a playoff game,” Roberts said after the game. “You see a guy like Cease, who has great talent, and being able to take at-bats, that’s the hard part. … We did that all night, upped the pitch count, got him out of the game, got to his pen and looked at some guys. So that’s a credit to our guys.
“It’s an experience. It is trusting the process.”
The Dodgers are now 70-13 this year when scoring five or more runs. While their pitching hasn’t been at all reliable this season, the offense’s ability to score in bunches (even and especially in the postseason, when runs are hard to come by) is a huge advantage over most teams.
Yes, the Dodgers are going to need better production from their starters, but having the safety net of this lineup certainly makes things easier.
“The first inning certainly wasn’t ideal as far as striking first,” Roberts said. “But it was good to see us show some resilience, take a hit and respond the way we did. … It really speaks to the character of this group. …
“We need to fight, and that’s what we did tonight.”