Padre's best Dodgers in Game 3 - and show why they might be the best in baseball

SAN DIEGO – It felt appropriate when Blink 182's Tom DeLonge strolled across the stands during a live performance in the eighth inning Tuesday night, inviting a record crowd of 47,744 raucous fans to Petco Park to join in singing his song, which became a celebratory song anthem at 7 p.m. Tony Gwynn Dr.

The Dodgers had a lot of fun, but the Padres did all the little things.

They continued to score when given additional opportunities, fit perfectly in the bullpen in Game 3 of the National League Division Series and, most importantly, played the stout defense their counterparts lacked in a 6-5 win, the San Diego is on the verge of sending his division-winning rivals home at the start of the postseason.

But despite all the parallels to 2022, despite all the euphoric feelings of déjà vu in the Gaslamp District, this year feels different. When the Padres finish their work at home on Wednesday, no one will be as amazed as they were two years ago when their 89-win team defeated the 111-win Dodgers juggernaut.

This time the Padres aren't sneaking up on anyone.

This time around they are a relentless unit with few, if any, glaring weaknesses.

This time, they may be the best team in the entire playoff field.

“We are playing well,” said Fernando Tatís Jr., “but I also see that we are playing even better.”

The Padres' star right fielder was already having one of the best starts to a postseason ever – his 2.151 OPS in four playoff games beginning Tuesday was the highest of any player ever with at least 18 plate appearances – when he made a stadium-shaking, a game-changing two-run blast that sent Petco Park into a frenzy and turned a fast-paced second inning into complete disaster for Walker Buehler and the Dodgers.

The box score for Buehler looked ugly: five innings, seven hits, six runs (all earned), one walk, no strikeouts. But neither his final sentence nor his fiery walk off the field after the disaster, which ended with him throwing his glove and various items into the Dodgers' dugout, painted the full picture of his outing.

All six of San Diego's runs on Tuesday night ended in a barrage that could have been avoided entirely had Buehler's defense backed him up.

That's the danger of a banged up infield against a relentless contact-heavy offense. The Padres recorded the fewest strikeouts and the most hits in the sport and had 10 walk-off wins this year. They will put the ball in play. And on Tuesday, they made the hobbled Dodgers pay.

“When you give a good team extra outs, it's hard to throw zeros,” manager Dave Roberts said.

With Manny Machado leading the way, Jackson Merrill hit a grounder that forced Freddie Freeman, who suffered a badly sprained ankle, to jump to right. Freeman's throw from his knees to second base bounced off Machado, whose circuitous route blocked the open lane, and landed in left field.

The deadlier mistake, however, came one batter later when Xander Bogaerts hit another potential double-play ball. Shortstop Miguel Rojas, whose adductor strain eventually forced him out of the game before the end of the night, decided to run to the bag himself and try to turn second instead of switching to second. Both runners were safe, and the Dodgers' promising first-inning lead – something the club, which lacked starting pitching, had not had in a postseason game since Game 1 of the 2022 NLDS – was gone.

David Peralta, a former Dodger and unsung hero of the Padres' two series victories, then pulled a fastball in and off the plate across the board for a two-run double. Jake Cronenworth laid down an infield single. At this point, only two balls had left the infield and the Padres had already scored three runs.

Buehler hit a sac fly and a popout when he made his only obvious pitching error of the disastrous inning, leaving an 0-2 fastball in the nitro zone of the postseason's hottest hitter. Tatís, who is 10-for-18 with four homers this October, hasn't missed.

“Man, when I hit him, I don't know, I just passed out, started screaming at my dugout, just energy through the ceiling,” Tatís said.

The last two games have shown the different ways this version of the Padres can win games and cause matchup problems.

Even without Joe Musgrove, they have starters capable of turning gems, like Yu Darvish did with seven innings of one-run ball in Game 2. Sunday night's off-field antics at Dodger Stadium raised the temperature of the series but also distracted attention from the actual results of the contest, which was an absolute drubbing by a Padres offense that became the first team in MLB history to win six home runs in an away playoff game.

They can win by mashing, but they can also destroy an opponent's will by putting ball after ball in play, just as they did while batting around during Tuesday's six-run rush. It's a contact-heavy lineup that's capable of wreaking havoc even when the three-time batting champion at the top isn't producing.

“You see it every night, it's someone else making the big hit or making the big defensive play or making the big pitching spot when we needed it,” Jake Cronenworth said. “Whatever it is, I think that’s what makes this group so special. It's not just one or two people carrying us, it's a collective group. Everyone leans on each other.”

And if that offense provides a lead in the middle innings, there may not be a more impressive bullpen in the sport.

After general manager AJ Preller made aggressive moves at the deadline to sign relievers Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing, Padres relievers ranked in ERA, strikeout rate and strikeout-to-walk for the remainder of the year. Ratio among the top five majors. They played a significant role in the late-season success of a Padres team that had the best record in baseball after the break.

Now, when you narrow it down to the biggest high-leverage threats, the bullpen is even scarier.

On the rare occasions when the starting pitcher falters, as Michael King did in Game 2, allowing a grand slam from Teoscar Hernández that cut the five-run lead to one, the group behind him is a stabilizing presence. Jeremiah Estrada, Adam, Scott and closer Robert Suárez assisted King by combining to allow just one baserunner the rest of the way.

“It's a family here,” said Estrada, who, in a career year, sacrificed his role in the eighth inning for lower leverage opportunities to accommodate the extensions. “I just thought, ‘Look, you gave me the opportunity. This is all I wanted, just an opportunity to show you guys who I can be. I will give you my best. These guys are coming in, that means more help. New brothers are coming.

If Suárez is right — after a shaky end to the season, the Padres stuck with him in the ninth-inning role and he rewarded them with 3.1 scoreless frames this postseason — the bullpen is a fully fledged force. But the Padres won't need their replacements quite as much as the Dodgers will in a life-or-death Game 4, as the reeling club is one loss away from a third straight first-round exit against a lower-seeded division distant is enemy.

For the Dodgers, Tuesday's loss actually brought some bright spots.

Mookie Betts, who had entered the night without a hit in his last 22 postseason at-bats, hit a home run in the first frame with a deep drive almost identical to the one Jurickson Profar had taken from him the game before. After making the rounds first, Betts found himself making his way back to the dugout near the pitcher's mound, assuming he had been caught, before returning to the base path and continuing his trot. Luck hasn't been on his side lately, but perhaps things will turn around after a two-goal night. Getting Betts going will be crucial to the Dodgers' survival.

After the explosive inning, Buehler rebounded and held the Padres scoreless over the next three frames. In the fifth inning, Roberts made a mound visit after a single by Machado, but allowed Buehler to continue. After a wild pitch to Jackson brought Merrill Machado to second, the Dodgers intentionally singled out the star rookie at 1-1. Leaving Buehler in and giving the free pass paid off, as Buehler got out of the inning unscathed.

That was one less retirement a Dodgers reliever needed, and a bullpen game was on the horizon to keep their season alive and not find themselves on the wrong side of another raucous celebration at Petco Park. The Padres plan to start ace Dylan Cease, who threw just 82 pitches while going 3.1 innings in Game 1 on Saturday, on short rest.

“Not a great situation,” Roberts said. “But as far as winning a ballgame tomorrow, I think we’re in a really good position.”

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