by The Padres lost 6-0 to the Dodgers on Saturday, giving up the NL West lead. Blake Snell pitched six innings and gave up just five hits.
During the first two innings, a shaky Dylan Cease gave up five runs on one hit and six walks. The Padres beat the Dodgers six to five that night, making the free passes expensive.
Los Angeles (70-53) won the first inning Friday, tying the score with San Diego (69-54) thanks to a two-run single from Michael Conforto. On Wednesday, the Padres were the only team in the division to hold the top spot.
In 3 1/3 innings, Cease (5-11) walked six while giving up two hits. He gave up five runs, three of which were earned.
In the first inning, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Will Smith—the Dodgers’ first three batters of the game—all walked and scored.
Conforto grounded a single into right field to give the team a 3-0 lead, but Cease was still one out from getting out of the jam trailing just 1-0.
Manager Mike Shildt stated, “I mean, Dylan has been good since the All-Star break, but he wasn’t as sharp tonight.”
When Jackson Merrill dropped Freddie Freeman’s flyball at the warning track in right-center field in the second inning, Ohtani and Smith also walked and scored.
Our defense has been excellent. Those men have been outstanding. “We have the best outfield in the league, and sometimes, you know, balls fall,” Shildt remarked.
On the base paths, the Padres also made blunders.
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Smith threw out Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base in the first two innings, and the Dodgers recorded three of their first four outs of the game on stolen-base attempts.
That aided Snell (3-1), who made his first start against the Padres after departing the team after winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2023. He struck out three and walked two.
In the fifth, Teoscar Hernandez blasted his 20th home run of the year. Two of the Padres’ six hits came from Tatis.
Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.08) and Yu Darvish (2-3, 5.61 ERA) square off Sunday afternoon as the Padres attempt to salvage a victory in the series finale.
