Padres sweep Dodgers for 1st time since ’13

SAN DIEGO — The Padres catch won games and sequence against the rival Dodgers over the previous decade, but nothing rather indulge in this.

Three games in San Diego this week, three assertion Padres victories, three nights of raucous sellout crowds at Petco Park, desirous to place a stamp on what has rapidly become in point of fact one of baseball’s most spirited rivalries.

The personality of that competitors — tilted carefully in the Dodgers’ prefer for so lengthy — appears to be altering rather a bit.

The Padres capped their first sweep of the Dodgers since April 15-17, 2013, with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday evening. San Diego has won seven of eight against Los Angeles for the first time since ’07. Right here’s the anatomy of that sweep:

Manny did all of it

The ball chanced on Manny Machado. In the end it did.

With one out and two men aboard in the ninth inning, Albert Pujols hit a missile to the coolest of the Padres’ third baseman. Machado snared the ball and made an off-steadiness throw to 2nd baseman Jake Cronenworth, doubling up Will Smith for a game-ending double play.

It modified into as soon as the Padres’ sequence. It modified into as soon as Machado’s sequence.

“That’s a imperfect man,” San Diego supervisor Jayce Tingler said. “Apt an absolute imperfect man.”

Machado’s first-inning homer in Monday’s sequence opener attach of residing the tone, and he tacked on one other first-inning blast on Wednesday, his fifth in 25 profession at-bats against Dodgers honest correct-hander Trevor Bauer. Machado is red-sizzling on the plate, but he furthermore made a wide affect defensively.

Machado modified into as soon as in every single diagram, making a handful of practical plays at third scandalous — and one other handful briefly honest correct enviornment. In the eighth, he came inches from tracking down a Max Muncy fly ball on the coolest-enviornment warning observe.

“It’s most steadily fiddling with four outfielders,” Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said.

For all of Machado’s highlight-reel contributions this week, his most spirited affect Wednesday came on a uninteresting chopper to third off his bat in the eighth. Turner hesitated, turning to peek at 2nd, before firing to first. Machado, busting it down the toll road, beat Turner’s throw by a step.

Now no longer exactly in preserving with the Manny Machado sage.

“I’m going to snort something now for the other folks that must dog him on no longer hustling,” Padres starter Joe Musgrove said. “The fellow is aware of. His baseball IQ is off the charts. He is aware of how laborious he wants to circulation down the toll road, and the guy plays each day. … You look it tonight, hit a one-hopper to third scandalous and got his [butt] down the toll road.”

The small issues

Machado’s hustle play place two men aboard and not utilizing a outs in the eighth, and it sparked rather an inning. The Dodgers known as on left-hander Victor González to face left-handed-hitting Eric Hosmer, who dropped a handsome bunt up the first-scandalous line — his first sacrifice bunt in better than six years.

After an intentional jog to Wil Myers, Trent Grisham plated the trip-forward inch by working a bases-loaded jog. Victor Caratini followed with a sacrifice fly. A workmanlike rally, and , the Padres led, 5-3.

“The eighth inning modified into as soon as awesome,” Tingler said. “It doesn’t happen until Hoz strikes these guys. They’re merely guys playing collectively. They’re giving every various up for the greater of the team. It’s a blast to be round.”

Suffice it to snort, when the Padres and Dodgers catch met in the contemporary previous, the Padres most steadily haven’t been the fundamentally sound team executing all the small issues. However they were this week.

“We got outplayed,” said Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts.

Added Bauer: “They came to play, and we didn’t.”

Working on empty

Presumably essentially the most excellent aspect of the Padres’ sweep — and their present seven-game a hit shuffle — is that they’re silent playing their most spirited baseball on the pause of a stretch of 33 games in 34 days.

“It’s a well-deserved off-day [on Thursday], that’s for obvious,” Tingler said. “You gain to expertise this one, because of the off-day, maybe a pair hours more.”

The personality of that grueling agenda modified into as soon as never on show better than Tuesday evening, when the beleaguered San Diego bullpen requested for 9 sizable outs from unheralded rookies Nabil Crismatt and Mason Thompson.

No team in the National League has predominant more innings out of its aid corps than San Diego. The bullpen silent ranks 2nd in the Majors with a 2.80 ERA. Closer Mark Melancon, proving to be in point of fact one of many offseason’s shrewdest signings, worked a scoreless ninth on Wednesday for his MLB-excessive 23rd place.

Petco Park modified into as soon as rockin’

In 27 innings against the Dodgers, the Padres never trailed. The ballpark — a occasion ambiance from the begin — replied in kind.

“Outdoors of the World Series, that’s essentially the most vitality I’ve ever played in,” said Musgrove, who won a championship with Houston in 2017. “Any time these Dodger followers gain going, our followers silenced ‘em and drowned ‘em out. It’s so particular to be ready to catch a fat crowd again and 100-percent ability, because these followers were exhibiting up for us.”

It’s been a week since Petco Park opened to ability, and the Padres catch won all seven games since.

There’s silent a in point of fact perfect distance to circulation in the NL West saunter, and the Padres — even after this cathartic sweep — scramble the Dodgers by a half of-game and are 4 1/2 aid of the first-diagram Giants. It’ll be one other two months until the Padres face either of their two most predominant division rivals. (They welcome the Dodgers aid to Petco Park on Aug. 24.) For the time being, they’ve got ground to create up.

“We imagine we are in a position to beat someone,” Tingler said. “We imagine when we’re playing our game, we’ll match up with someone.”

And after the previous three nights — three nights that felt so fully various from something else we’ve considered in this competitors over the previous decade — who could maybe maybe furthermore argue?