Behind a pitching clinic from Dylan Cease, the San Diego Padres evened up the three game series in a game that turned into a runaway for The Padres in the bottom of the third inning. Working off the bats of Luis Arreaz, Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill, the Friars scored three runs in that third stanza and never looked back. The shellacking would not stop for the remainder of the game as the Padres evened the series by a score of 11-1.
Dylan Cease pitched a gem in his seven innings of work. He struck out 11, only gave up 3 hits, and most importantly, he did not allow the powerful Dodgers offense to score a run.
While the Dodgers were struggling, the Friars bats stayed red hot and in the sixth inning they almost lit the house on fire. A Maldonado homer opened the door to a four-run inning that all but sealed the deal for San Diego. In the inning, Arreaz doubled and scored and Machado singled and scored. Speaking of Machado, he went 3 for 5 on the night while grabbing 5 huge RBI’s.
The Dodgers had their chances to get back in the game numerous times, but their failure to hit with men in scoring position was contagious. All told, the Dodgers left eleven men on base Tuesday night. That will not get the job done.
Doing his best to eat up innings, Dodger pitcher Sauer threw 111 pitches over five innings and hung in there during the Padre onslaught. To put it mildly, Sauer “Took One For The Team”.
Having stretched Sauer to the limit, the Dodgers waved the proverbial “White Flag” when they brought position player Enrique Hernandez to close out the final innings on the mound.
The Padres and the Dodgers will meet in the “Rubber Game” of the series early Wednesday at Petco Park. Start time for the game is 1:10pm.
By William Trillo
