{"id":10180,"date":"2024-10-10T08:17:55","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T08:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=10180"},"modified":"2024-10-10T08:23:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T08:23:20","slug":"dodgers-bullpen-shuts-down-lifeless-padres-to-force-winner-take-all-game-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=10180","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers\u2019 Bullpen Shuts Down Lifeless Padres to Force Winner-Take-All Game 5"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Here are four takeaways from the Dodgers\u2019 Game 4 win over the Padres that sends the NLDS back to Los Angeles.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Alex<\/div>\n
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Alex Vesia and the rest of the Dodgers bullpen held the Padres scoreless in Game 4. \/ Denis Poroy-Imagn Images<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers\u00a0are alive.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers responded to Tuesday\u2019s close Game 3 loss at Petco Park, disappointing an enormous crowd that came out Wednesday to watch the\u00a0San Diego Padres\u00a0try to eliminate their division rivals. Los Angeles won 8\u20130 in a game that never felt close, never looking back after jumping out to a 5\u20130 lead in the third inning Wednesday.<\/p>\n

With the NLDS now tied 2\u20132 and headed back to L.A. for a decisive Game 5 on Friday, here are several takeaways from Game 4 that might shape what happens next.<\/p>\n

Who needs a starting pitcher?<\/h2>\n

Due to a litany of injuries, the Dodgers’ starting rotation is a mess. Dave Roberts opted to go with a bullpen game and it worked like a charm. L.A.\u2019s relievers gave the Padres fits all night. The different angles and velocities kept them off balance and an offense that had averaged seven runs in the first three games of the series was kept shockingly quiet.<\/p>\n

Dodgers relievers combined to throw nine shutout innings and only allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out eight.<\/p>\n

While Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the presumed starter for Game 5, Roberts might want to give serious consideration to going with another bullpen day instead after the Padres scored five runs off Yamamoto in his three innings of work in Game 1.<\/p>\n

Padres offense goes lifeless<\/h2>\n

Despite a Petco Park record 47,774 Padres fans ready and willing to explode, their team didn’t give them much to cheer about. The Padres fell behind early and wound up buried. Rather than fight back as it had so many times this season, San Diego’s offense went quiet. In fact, it\u2019s been held scoreless for 15 consecutive innings dating back to a six-run second inning in Game 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need to get a better approach at the plate,\u201d right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. told reporters after the game. \u201cThey executed their pitches today. [We] just need better at-bats as a group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The top six hitters in San Diego’s lineup only mustered one extra-base hit on Wednesday, a ground-rule double by Tatis in the third inning. That section of the lineup went 4-for-23 (.174 batting average) with three singles, a double and a walk, with Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill both going 0-for-4 after providing crucial hits earlier in the series.<\/p>\n

It was a brutal showing from an offense that had scored at least four runs in each of San Diego\u2019s first six postseason games. And it kept that record crowd seated for most of the night.<\/p>\n

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Mookie Betts got the scoring started with a solo shot in the first inning. \/ Denis Poroy-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mookie’s slump is over<\/h2>\n

Mookie Betts hammered a first-inning home run for the second consecutive game\u2014and almost a third if not for Jurickson Profar’s spectacular catch in Game 2. Betts was 0-for-6 in the first two games of the series, continuing a brutal playoff slump that stretched back to a hitless postseason in 2023.<\/p>\n

Over the past two games, Betts has turned it around, going 4-for-9 with two home runs and three RBIs. If he’s hitting, the Dodgers’ lineup becomes exponentially more difficult for the Padres to deal with.<\/p>\n

After Dylan Cease induced a weak groundout from Shohei Ohtani to open the game, Betts hammered a 98 mph fastball over the center field wall. The solo shot energized the Dodgers and silenced the crowd. San Diego\u2014the town and the team\u2014never really got back into it.<\/p>\n

Dodgers\u2019 depth shines through<\/h2>\n

Star first baseman Freddie Freeman was scratched shortly before first pitch with a nagging ankle injury and shortstop Miguel Rojas also missed Game 4 with an abductor injury that forced him out of Game 3 early. No matter, as the Dodgers moved Tommy Edman to short and Max Muncy to first base while inserting Chris Taylor (center field) and Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez (third base) off the bench. They repeatedly flipped Taylor and Hern\u00e1ndez, showing off their versatility, and Taylor wound up in left field to finish the game after Andy Pages came into center field as a defensive replacement.<\/p>\n

While they\u2019d miss Freeman’s bat for Game 5 if he\u2019s still unavailable, the Dodgers didn’t need him or Rojas on Wednesday. The fielding configuration worked just fine, with Hernandez and Taylor filling in admirably. Hern\u00e1ndez also added two singles and scored once in four at-bats (though Taylor was less helpful on offense, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts).<\/p>\n

The Dodgers spent more than $1.2 billion this offseason to load up their roster with superstars, but with their season on the line, several longtime complementary pieces helped hold down the fort in their biggest win of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are four takeaways from the Dodgers\u2019 Game 4 win over the Padres that sends the NLDS back to Los Angeles. 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