SAN DIEGO — Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice …
The matchup Tuesday night was a summer rerun of a fall blockbuster. The Dodgers went with a bullpen game against the San Diego Padres. The Padres had right-hander Dylan Cease going. The same matchup in Game 4 of last fall’s National League Division Series turned the postseason around, starting the Dodgers’ record-tying run of scoreless innings (33) and vaulting them from the brink of elimination toward a World Series title.
Before this series began, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he thought the Padres would be looking for “redemption” for letting the NLDS get away from them. If that sour taste still lingers in San Diego, they at least enjoyed a Sauer paste, scoring nine times against right-hander Matt Sauer on their way to an 11-1 victory on Tuesday night.
The rout evened this three-game series and added a laugher to a rivalry usually played with scowls and gritted teeth.
The Dodgers’ most effective pitcher Tuesday was Shohei Ohtani, who threw live batting practice in the afternoon – Sauer did the same at night.
Sauer was tabbed to pitch bulk innings against the Padres and he did that, absorbing the damage for 4⅔ innings. But he also gave up bulk hits, 13 in all including three doubles (two to Luis Arraez), a triple (Jackson Merrill) and a home run (Martin Maldonado) while also walking three and hitting a batter.
Sauer was so bad, the Dodgers threw in the towel in the sixth inning, sending Kiké Hernandez to the mound to show off his pitching helmet, the fat lady singing even before “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
Sinking as slow as 46 mph, Hernandez covered the final 2⅓ innings, a career-high, but is still looking for his first career strikeout.
Cease had his own personal redemption to seek against the Dodgers. Sent out to start that Game 4 on three days of rest, the right-hander didn’t make it through two innings.
With the stakes considerably lower, Cease held the Dodgers scoreless for seven innings Tuesday, allowing just three hits and striking out 11 (though he did also walk five).
The Dodgers avoided the shutout with three hits and a walk in the eighth inning against Padres reliever David Morgan. Michael Conforto’s RBI single drove in their only run of the night.
More to come on this story.