LOS ANGELES -- The Padres spent months chasing down -- and eventually overtaking -- the Dodgers in the National League West standings. Staying atop the division, it seems, will be another challenge entirely.
San Diego entered this weekend’s highly anticipated showdown at Dodger Stadium with all the momentum -- winners of five straight, having moved into sole possession of first place after overcoming a nine-game deficit in the span of six weeks. But it was Los Angeles who won a tense series opener on Friday night, 3-2.
Now, with 40 games left to play, the two NL West rivals are even again.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Ramón Laureano, who welcomed himself to the rivalry by taking Clayton Kershaw deep in his first at-bat. “We’ll see what happens.”
That Laureano home run -- a high drive that clanged off the left-field foul pole -- was the only offense the Padres were able to muster against Kershaw. Meanwhile, the Dodgers did just enough against San Diego’s makeshift pitching plans.
The Padres were forced to piece things together after Michael King landed on the injured list with left knee inflammation the day before he was scheduled to make Friday’s start. King remains optimistic he’ll be able to return by the end of the month. But his absence left a hole in the rotation at the outset of one of the biggest series of the season.
The Padres opted to use Wandy Peralta as an opener, before turning to Randy Vásquez to cover the bulk of the innings. And you know what? The plan mostly worked. But solving Kershaw proved another challenge entirely.
“He added and subtracted,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “We had a couple swings on him -- Laureano, good swing -- but [Kershaw] did his part, for sure.”
Friday’s game marked the first time in 19 years that the Padres and Dodgers have met so late in the season with first place on the line. Naturally, the game took on an October feel -- right down to Shildt’s aggressive handling of his pitching staff.
Peralta faced only four hitters -- retiring all of them, including Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, the two lefties he was needed for. Vásquez, then, was done after the fifth, having pitched 3 2/3 solid innings. He allowed two runs only after Manny Machado couldn’t corral a Miguel Rojas bunt after a diving attempt. Rojas reached safely, and the Dodgers scored twice in the frame.
Vásquez had been recalled on Thursday to replace King on the roster and could theoretically fill his spot in the rotation in the next two turns through. On Friday, however, Vásquez was used out of the bullpen for the first time all season.
“It’s a different role, definitely,” Vásquez said through interpreter Jorge Merlos. “But I didn’t change anything. I still focused on preparing myself for this outing [the same way].”
Even with the Padres trailing, Shildt called upon two of his highest leverage arms in Jeremiah Estrada and Mason Miller. For some teams, using two arms of that caliber in a loss might’ve been debilitating. But the Padres have arguably the deepest bullpen in baseball. Sure, they used two of their top weapons. They still managed to keep a trio of All-Star relievers fresh, in Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Robert Suarez.
Estrada allowed what proved to be the decisive run, when Teoscar Hernández caught up to a fastball and drove it out to center field -- the first home run Estrada has allowed in nearly two months. Half of the six homers he has allowed this season have come from Dodgers hitters. Hernández has two of them.
The Padres clawed one back in the eighth but were left to wonder if it could’ve been more. The first two men reached base against lefty Alex Vesia after being hit by pitches. Shildt called on Freddy Fermin to bunt. It was executed, pushing the tying runs into scoring position. But only one of those runners would score, on Luis Arraez’s sacrifice fly. The Padres ultimately fell a run short.
And, thus, back into a tie for first place.
Before the game, Shildt was asked to assess the nature of this series. He conceded its importance in the context of winning the division (the Padres’ stated goal all season), while mostly downplaying the current state of the race.
“The only day the standings ultimately matter,” Shildt said, “is the last day of the season.”
The Padres and Dodgers are now one game closer to that day. And there’s nothing separating the two.