SAN DIEGO – Clear.
The Dodgers promoted their top prospect, Dalton Rushing, to the majors in May and told him to watch and learn. More recently, Manager Dave Roberts had a talk with Rushing and reminded him that his primary concern should be his defense.
He did more than that Sunday afternoon, shocking the Dodgers’ flat-lining offense to life in an 8-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Rushing’s three-run home run in the seventh inning broke a 2-2 tie and prevented a three-game sweep by the Padres that would have sent the Dodgers home in second place. Instead, the two teams emerged from their six-games-in-10-days gauntlet in a dead heat atop the NL West standings with 31 games left in the regular season – none of them against each other.
Dominated by Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes – both of whom brought ERAs over 5.00 into their starts – in the first two games of this series, the Dodgers faced the Padres’ best starter, Nick Pivetta, on Sunday.
They had him on the ropes in the first inning thanks to two walks wrapped around a single. Teoscar Hernandez came up with the bases loaded and no outs and drove a 3-and-1 fastball 400 feet over the fence in straightaway center field.
But Padres center fielder Ramon Laureano leapt up, caught the ball and brought it back, robbing Hernandez of a grand slam.
A run did score on the sacrifice fly, but the Dodgers’ offense retreated into its shell. Pivetta struck out four of the next five batters and retired 16 of 17. The Dodgers’ only baserunner over the next four innings was a walk of Mookie Betts in the third inning. Betts was on base four times in the game (three singles and that walk).
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto made just one mistake in his six innings – a sinker left around the belt that Elias Diaz hammered for a two-run home run in the third inning.
That was enough to put the Padres on top, 2-1, and send shivers of deja vu throughout Dodgers fandom.
But Freddie Freeman bruised Pivetta before he could escape the mound, tying the game with a solo home run in the sixth inning.
An inning later against Jeremiah Estrada, the Dodgers stirred to life. Andy Pages led off with a single to left. Michael Conforto drew a walk. Miguel Rojas flew out, bringing up No. 9 hitter Rushing with his .184 average as a major-league apprentice.
He battled Estrada to a full count, then got his reward – a hanging slider over the heart of the plate. Rushing sent it flying 387 feet over the wall in right center. Three batters later, Freeman added his second home run of the day. After scoring one run in each of the first two games in this series (and a total of eight in their four losses on this trip), the Dodgers had an embarrassment of riches.
Oh-for-10 in the series before the ninth inning Sunday, Shohei Ohtani piled on with his 45th home run of the season.