By beating the San Diego Padres 3-2<\/a> in the opener of a pivotal three-game rivalry series, the Dodgers slayed some recently troublesome demons of their own.<\/p>\n They moved back into a tie with the Padres for first place in the National League West<\/a>.<\/p>\n They got six strong innings from Clayton Kershaw<\/a>; plus, in a refreshing change of pace, plenty of crisp, clean defense behind him.<\/p>\n And though a lineup that lost Max Muncy to the injured list<\/a> with an oblique strain before the game was largely contained by the Padres (who had to go with a bullpen game after scheduled starter Michael King<\/a> was shelved with a shoulder injury), the bullpen finally managed to protect a late, narrow lead for what felt like the first time in several weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a really well-played ball game,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cWe needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the Dodgers came into this weekend\u2019s rivalry series reeling in a way that once seemed impossible for this year\u2019s $400-million team.<\/p>\n Going back to July 4, they were just 12-21. What was a nine-game division lead then had since been transformed into a one-game deficit by the Padres, who came to Los Angeles riding high thanks to a monster trade deadline and a recent 14-3 streak.<\/p>\n Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n More dark clouds arrived a few hours before first pitch, as well, when Muncy, who missed Wednesday\u2019s game with side soreness, was placed on the injured list with a Grade 1 oblique strain, sidelining him for at least the next several weeks.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t mean the Dodgers were panicking. Before the game, Roberts quipped that, no, actually, \u201ctonight\u2019s not Game 7 of the World Series.\u201d His players had echoed that same message this week, preaching the need to remain level-headed and remember the calendar still had plenty of baseball ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s August,\u201d Kershaw said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the end of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the season was starting to feel nonetheless on the brink, with the Dodgers searching for answers to their recently inconsistent offense, unsound fundamentals and untrustworthy bullpen (which had squandered five games in the last two weeks).<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like to be embarrassed. I don\u2019t think our players do [either],\u201d Roberts said before the game. \u201cSo this series, I\u2019m expecting high intensity and high performance.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dodgers delivered on both.<\/p>\n Kershaw set the tone, displaying a vintage demeanor even with his ever-diminished stuff. Before the game, he marched through the clubhouse and hunched over his locker, leafing through a scouting report while teammates carefully tip-toed around him. Between innings, he quietly paced in the dugout while avoiding almost any human contact. And when he was atop the mound, he pounded the strike zone and executed pitch after pitch, yielding his only run in the second inning when Ram\u00f3n Laureano (one of several sizzling San Diego deadline acquisitions) clipped the outside of the left-field foul pole to open the scoring.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just no one more intense or focused than Clayton,\u201d Roberts said of Kershaw, who has now given up just two runs in 18 innings this month, lowering his season ERA to 3.01. \u201cHe has a way of elevating people\u2019s focus and play.\u201d<\/p>\n 1 <\/p>\n 2 <\/p>\n 3 <\/p>\n 1. Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Padres in the seventh inning Friday. 2. San Diego\u2019s Manny Machado reacts after striking out in the first inning. 3. Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts throws to first base to complete the double play after forcing out San Diego\u2019s Freddy Fermin at second base. (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n It certainly appeared that way. Defensively, the Dodgers (69-53) helped Kershaw out by turning several tough plays around the infield \u2014 from Freddie Freeman<\/a> picking a ball in the dirt in the second inning, to Alex Freeland and then Kershaw himself making tough plays in the third and fifth, respectively.<\/p>\n At the plate, the Dodgers also managed to capitalize on a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the third, after singles from Michael Conforto and Freeland were followed by a popped-up Miguel Rojas bunt that Padres third baseman Manny Machado couldn\u2019t catch with a dive.<\/p>\n \u201cManny\u2019s a Gold Glover over there,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWe caught a break right there.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dodgers didn\u2019t get another hit in the inning, but Shohei Ohtani<\/a> drove in one run by beating out a potential double-play ball. Mookie Betts<\/a> then added a go-ahead sacrifice fly.<\/p>\n The lead became 3-1 in the seventh, when Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez belted an opposite-field homer for a massively important run.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in a little bit of a struggle,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cTrying not to think too much and trying to put a good swing on the pitch that I can get in the strike zone.\u201d<\/p>\n From there, it was up to the bullpen, which was asked to navigate the kind of slim late-game margin that had often spelled disaster during the team\u2019s recent season-altering skid.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have other guys [in the bullpen],\u201d said Roberts, who pulled Kershaw after only 76 pitches, \u201cthat have to do their job too.\u201d<\/p>\n On this night, they did \u2014 despite a couple late scares.<\/p>\n Dodgers relief pitcher Jack Dreyer celebrates after the final out of a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Ben Casparius pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but had to strand a two-out double from Jackson Merrill to do so.<\/p>\n Alex Vesia created a jam in the eighth by hitting two batters and loading the bases on a walk. But the Padres (69-53) only managed one run, with Vesia getting Luis Arraez to hit a sacrifice fly before Blake Treinen came on and retired Manny Machado on a first-pitch pop-up.<\/p>\n In the ninth inning, surprisingly, Roberts didn\u2019t stick with Treinen \u2014 whom the team has been wary of using for multiple innings as he continues to work his way back from an early-season elbow injury.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t Game 7,\u201d Roberts reiterated. \u201cAnd we\u2019re steadfast on not using him for an up-down.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet, at long last, the result didn\u2019t backfire.<\/p>\n In the ninth, Alexis D\u00edaz and Jack Dreyer pitched around a single from Merrill to finish things. The Dodgers celebrated with a long-awaited high-five line, having finally made a late lead stand up. And after spending the last 48 hours in second place, the team climbed back to the top of the standings, exorcising the close-game demons that had so dauntingly haunted them over their recent midseason slump.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s just the way it goes sometimes,\u201d Kershaw said. \u201cBaseball is hard. When you play every day, things can spiral pretty quick. … So I don\u2019t want to say that, you know, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re reset now.\u2019 I think we were fine. I think we just played some bad games. And I think we\u2019re fine moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was Demon Slayer Night at Dodger Stadium on Friday. And not just because the team was running…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[56417,12424,64,63,56418,5138,56419,56411,56414,56412,591,56413,3572,5135,56415,56416,85,3018,4209],"class_list":["post-72122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-alex-freeland","tag-alex-vesia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-demon","tag-dodgers","tag-few-hour","tag-first-pitch","tag-inning","tag-kershaw","tag-mlb","tag-only-run","tag-opening-game","tag-padres","tag-second-inning","tag-several-week","tag-sports","tag-team","tag-way"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}