After eight straight losses, and five in a row to the Dodgers in the last two weeks, the Padres had evidently had enough.
Three pitches into Sunday’s game, manager Craig Stammen and infield coach Ryan Goins were ejected for arguing a check-swing call against Fernando Tatis Jr. –– a seemingly performative outburst to fire up their slumping squad.
Whatever the intended effect, it appeared to work for the Padres, who managed to salvage something from this nightmarish four-game series at Dodger Stadium with a 5-2 win over the Dodgers.
For most of the late-afternoon contest, the game moved as excitingly as the upper-deck shadows across the infield.
Neither team had a hit through the first three innings. The scoring wasn’t opened until an RBI single from Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill in the fourth. And even then, the proceedings lacked little in the way of excitement or intrigue.
Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan only lasted 4 ⅓ innings, limiting the damage to just the one run despite an inefficient 96-pitch outing.
Padres left-hander JP Sears, meanwhile, reversed his scuffling form after entering the day with a near-7.00 ERA, holding the Dodgers scoreless over a five-inning outing in which he didn’t allow his first hit until a Miguel Rojas single in his second-to-last at-bat.
Finally, the Padres pulled away in the seventh, tagging Dodgers reliever Kyle Hurt with four runs –– including three on a back-breaking blast from Manny Machado.
The Dodgers got two runs back in the bottom of the seventh, on RBI singles from Alex Freeland and Shohei Ohtani, but got no further.
For one day, at least, the Padres had something to celebrate against their NL West rivals.
What it means
In the grand scheme, not much.
The Dodgers (59-32) remain 14 games clear of the Padres (44-45), who climbed back into a tie for second place in the division.
They maintain the winningest record in baseball and all but certain odds of another NL West crown.
What they did miss out on was what would’ve been their first four-game sweep of the Padres since 2009. Still, by taking three games this weekend, they’ve not only bolstered their division lead but clinched the head-to-head season series in the rivalry, as well.
Who’s hot
Stammen and his coaching staff sure seemed to be.
Amid the Padres’ season-long losing streak, they looked ready to jump on the first even somewhat questionable call from the umpires Sunday, immediately barking out from the dugout when Tatis wasn’t granted a check-swing call in the game’s first at-bat.
First, Goins got tossed from his seat on the bench.
Then Stammen, San Diego’s rookie manager, got himself rung during an on-field confrontation.
Tatis went on to strike out in the at-bat, and Sheehan kept them quiet for a while after that. But eventually, the Padres gave Stammen something to smile about back in his office,
Who’s not
Tommy Edman was a late scratch from the Dodgers’ starting lineup Sunday, after getting hit by a pitch in his surgically repaired right ankle the night before.
However, manager Dave Roberts downplayed the severity of the issue before the game, saying he was “not too concerned.”
Lo and behold, Edman came in as a pinch-hitter during the Dodgers’ seventh-inning rally, though did not stay in from there to play defense.
In more encouraging Dodgers injury news Sunday, Ohtani returned to the lineup after a one-day absence with tightness in his biceps. Roberts said the Dodgers will continue to monitor the injury, but that the two-way star was already feeling “back to normal.”
Up next
The Dodgers continue this 10-game, pre-All-Star-break homestand by welcoming the Rockies to town on Monday. Eric Lauer (4-5, 4.84 ERA) will start the opener against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (2-7, 7.25 ERA).
