Plaschke: It's happening again. Dodgers are on the verge of another ugly October encore

Gulp. Sigh. Damned. It's happening again.

For the second time in three postseasons, the Dodgers showed up on a chilly October evening at Petco Park in San Diego, full of confidence, full of emotion, plagued by skepticism and ready for revenge.

And once again they eat it.

This wipeout isn't as spectacular as the overwhelming crush of two Octobers ago, but give it time.

After losing Game 3 of the National League Division Series to the San Diego Padres 6-5, the Dodgers once again face an all-too-familiar fate.

Read more: The Dodgers can't overcome the disastrous inning loss in NLDS Game 3 to the Padres

One more loss and they end a season that they consider to be the best in baseball.

One more loss and more than a billion dollars are bloodied and battered and crawling toward winter.

Another loss and the Dodgers have once again suffered the worst fate against the worst opponent, once again crushed by an obnoxious little brother who is everything they are not.

Those feathered, testy, damn good San Diego Padres.

The Southern rivals lead the best-of-five series two games to one, with the ending possibly – probably? – will take place in Game 4 on Wednesday night, in which Padres ace Dylan Cease will face a number of Dodger relievers.

Doesn't sound promising.

“We have to win tomorrow night to set the stage for Game 5,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know what that’s going to look like.”

Things couldn't look much worse than they look now.

In Game 3, filled with chants of “Beat LA” and infused with an encore energy lifted from the whirlwind of Game 2, the Padres brought the intensity while the Dodgers gave it up.

The Padres scored six runs in the second inning against a chaotic Dodgers defense and that was it. With the exception of a grand slam hit by Teoscar Hernández, the Dodgers did little to get involved in the fight.

They should still be angry about the way the Padres earned a Game 2 victory that incited idiocy from the fans at Dodger Stadium, right?

Incorrect. They didn't act crazy, meekly striking out six hits against five Padres pitchers and not scoring a hit after the third inning.

You were supposed to defend Roberts' honor after Padre Manny Machado threw a baseball at him in Game 2, right?

Incorrect. They were hesitant from the moment starter Walker Buehler was assessed a pitch clock violation while facing Machado in the second inning. Buehler ultimately struggled like all Dodger starters, scoring six runs in five innings.

“Yeah, not a great situation,” Roberts said.

To add insult to embarrassment, the Padres did not retaliate for Dodger fans showering their players with bottles and baseballs in Game 2. Instead, Padres fans were the picture of strength and sportsmanship, roaring and waving yellow towels until they finally cried hoarse when Tanner Scott struck out Shohei Ohtani in the eighth inning, snuffing out the Dodgers' best last chance.

Speaking of which, Ohtani struck out twice and managed just a broken-bat single in the second straight game in which he looked very human. Despite giving up his game-winning home run in Game 1, the Padres are clearly not afraid of Ohtani. They are not afraid of anyone.

But more was expected of Superman.

“I think that the moment will certainly not be too big for him,” Roberts defended his star. “I think they make some good pitches. Obviously he had a good game in Game 1 and was able to keep himself somewhat contained… I think he's still in a good position. He will be willing to make a mistake.”

So the greatest player in baseball history is now an error hitter? The Dodgers' immediate future has become truly unsettled.

And to think that the game started with a home run by – you won't believe it – Mookie Betts! This was a guy who was 0-for-6 in this series and 3-for-44 in 12 playoff games, a guy who had a home run stolen from him by Jurickson Profar in Game 2, a guy who thought it happened again on Tuesday, as Profar jumped into the depths. The left corner of the field is standing again.

Read more: Shaikin: How “Beat LA” entered the Dodgers-Padres rivalry lexicon

Betts was so sure Profar had stolen another that he headed to the dugout before reaching second base when Profar emerged empty-handed and the explosion became a reality.

It was the Dodgers' only really nice surprise of the night. The Dodgers seemed to lose that instant mojo before the bottom of the second inning even began with that pitch clock violation, and it only got worse.

Machado singled up the middle and then forced an error when he ran a grounder to Freddie Freeman inside the baseline and Freeman's second-time throw bounced off his helmet into left field, setting the stage for a grounder by Xander Bogaerts Miguel Rojas intercepted but fumbled attempting to set up a double play and allow a run to score.

Then David Peralta doubled down the right field line to score two runs, a fly ball from Kyle Higashioka scored another run, then Fernando Tatis Jr. smashed a home run to deep left field to score six runs.

“There were just balls that we just didn’t turn into outs. And it adds stress in the inning,” Roberts said, later adding: “When you give a good team extra outs, it’s hard to throw zeros.”

Trailing 6-1, the Dodgers seemed defeated almost before the game began, and Hernández's grandmother couldn't change that in the third inning.

So here the Dodgers sit again on the precipice of massive failure, in the same place they were in 2022 when they lost that series in four games to the Padres, and almost in the same place they were last season when they were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“As far as winning a ballgame tomorrow, I think we’re in a really good position,” said the ever-optimistic Roberts.

Things have never looked worse for Dodger fans, still waiting for their first full-season championship in 36 years.

For more Dodgers news, subscribe to Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the beginning of each series.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.