Padres win 3-2 in 10 to end 10-game losing streak to Dodgers
Apr 23, 2022, 9:23 AM | Updated: 10:42 pm
San Diego Padres relief pitcher Taylor Rogers reacts as he walks to the dugout at the end of the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, April 23, 2022, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
(AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres can beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, after all.
Austin Nola hit a sacrifice fly with one out in the 10th inning for the Padres, who won 3-2 on Saturday night to snap a 10-game losing streak to the rival Dodgers.
Nola’s sac fly scored rookie CJ Abrams, who started as the automatic runner at second base and advanced on Trent Grisham’s sacrifice bunt. Justin Bruihl (0-1) took the loss.
The Padres blew a 2-0 lead in the eighth but were able to salvage six terrific innings by Yu Darvish and Jake Cronenworth’s first homer.
San Diego had been outscored 57-23 during the losing streak to the Dodgers, which dated to Aug. 24. Losing three straight series to Los Angeles late last season helped contribute to the Padres’ stunning collapse, which left them with a losing record for the 10th time in as many full seasons since 2011.
“Last year was last year and this year’s this year, so we’re 1-1 against them. Not bad,” Cronenworth said.
Even though Nola was 0 for 4 going into the 10th, manager Bob Melvin said he felt good about having Nola up in that situation against a lefty.
“Sometimes when you don’t have any hits and that situation comes up for you late, maybe your previous at-bats affect you a little bit, but it did not,” Melvin said. “He had a really good plan up there. Approached it very calmly up there and put it in play in the outfield.”
Nola said it was simply doing the little things right.
“Get a ball elevated in the air. We practice that all the time. We put time into doing situational hitting and right there it was everything we practiced — get the guy over and now get a pitch up in the zone to get in the air.”
Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, who misplayed Trea Turner’s fly ball into a tying two-run double in the eighth, threw out automatic runner Chris Taylor trying to take third on a flyout opening the 10th. Robert Suarez (1-1) then struck out Mookie Betts.
Nola, the catcher, said Profar’s throw was “unbelievable. Just everything about it. You could see Taylor wanting to go, he’s a good baserunner as well. Pro just got behind the ball and made an excellent throw. He did the fundamentals as well.”
Profar threw out Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds at home in a 6-0 win on Wednesday.
The Dodgers had been shut down in order for five straight innings by Darvish and reliever Steven Wilson before tying the game during the tense eighth inning.
With the Padres leading 2-0, new closer Taylor Rogers came on to try for a five-out save with runners on first and third. He struck out Freddie Freeman before Turner, a one-time Padres farmhand, lofted a fly ball to left that Profar misplayed into a double off the wall to tie the game.
San Diego reliever Luis Garcia had opened the inning by allowing singles to Taylor and Gavin Lux before striking out Betts.
Darvish pitched brilliantly for six innings, holding the Dodgers to one hit and retiring his final 13 batters.
The 35-year-old right-hander was outstanding for the second straight start. He struck out seven and walked three. Darvish set down 13 straight Dodgers from the final out of the second, when he got out of a bases-loaded jam, through the sixth inning.
“Oh my goodness, he was phenomenal, the way he was throwing his breaking ball, the way he got better as the game went,” Nola said. “It was really good, especially how his fastball started getting located, too, as he got going.”
Darvish loaded the bases in the second on consecutive two-out walks to Taylor and Lux before striking out Betts. On Friday night, Betts homered twice to break out of a season-opening slump and lead the Dodgers to a 6-1 win.
Cronenworth came into the game in an 0-for-23 slump before beating out an infield single in the first and then homering with two outs in the third against Tyler Anderson. It was his first of the season. Wil Myers hit a sacrifice fly in the second.
Anderson, making a spot start in place of injured Andrew Heaney, allowed two runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings, with four strikeouts and three walks.
UP NEXT
The series concludes Sunday when LHP Clayton Kershaw (2-0, 3.00 ERA) faces the Padres for the 44th time in his decorated career. He is 22-9 with a 2.09 ERA against San Diego, including 1-2 in three starts last year. The Padres counter with LHP Sean Manaea (2-1, 1.42).
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