by Megan Garcia
Miguel Rojas signified a glimmer of hope for the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, no outs and the go-ahead run at first. His hard-hit liner to Padres third baseman Manny Machado resulted in a game-ending triple play instead.
The Dodgers were left stunned on the basepaths as the Padres celebrated the 5–4–3 play that inched them closer to first place in the National League West. Now, the Dodgers hold onto a two-game lead in the division after their 4–2 loss on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
“It’s shocking. It’s the least likely outcome,” said manager Dave Roberts. “Obviously looking at how the game’s played and how many triple plays are turned every year, and tonight with Shohei (on deck), it’s very disappointing.”
The Dodgers left seven runners on base as opposed to San Diego’s five. The Dodgers also went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
“Obviously we didn’t get it done,” Rojas said. “We got to come back tomorrow. Win tomorrow, win the next day. I feel like that’s the mentality of everybody in this clubhouse — trying to win this series is going to be important for us going forward.”
The energy of the playoffs was expected in this last regular season series between the Dodgers and the Padres, and it was palpable until the final out.
San Diego entered the series with eight wins in their previous 10 games and the best record in MLB since the All-Star break at 40–17.
The Dodgers now look to turn the page on the stunning loss.
“I’m not worried about us coming to play tomorrow,” Roberts said. “We just need to get this lead back up to three with Jack [Flaherty] going tomorrow.”
Knack’s Start
Landon Knack was tagged for four earned runs on five hits and a walk in four innings against the Padres. He struck out four batters and walked one among his 77 pitches (48 strikes).
“I thought he was good, I thought he competed well,” Roberts said. “The story was they got the two-out hits. They got the big hits when they needed them. All four of their runs came with two outs.”
Jake Cronenworth bested Knack at the plate with three RBI on a home run and a double. Xander Bogaerts also batted in a run against Knack in the fourth inning to extend the Padres’ lead.
Where They Stand
The Dodgers (93–64) lost ground in the division. They now have a two-game lead over the Padres (91–66). Jack Flaherty will take the mound on Wednesday against Dylan Cease.
Their magic number to clinch the division remains at four games.
Dodgers tripped up by game-ending triple play was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.