Chaos Erupts After Padres' Victory Over the Dodgers
Dominican star Fernando Tatis Jr. put on an offensive clinic with the Padres at Dodger Stadium, tying up the divisional series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (1-1) and leading the way in a massive 2-10 blowout. The lopsided score left Dodgers fans frustrated, sparking boos, arguments, and more directed at the Padres.
The Padres hit a total of six home runs, with two coming from Tatis, which was way too much for a Dodgers team that started bad and finished worse. Tatis kept up his usual stellar performance at Dodger Stadium. With the two homers on Sunday, he's now hit 14 in the 36 games he's played there.
From the start, the Padres made it clear they weren’t leaving for San Diego without a win. This was evident right from the first pitch, as Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish faced off against his countryman Ohtani, striking him out.
Shortly after, we got one of the game’s iconic moments, showing just how locked in the Padres were. Mookie Betts hit what looked like a sure home run, his first of the postseason, but Jurickson Profar stretched out his left arm and snatched the ball from a Dodgers fan’s hand just before it landed in the stands.
That “troll” of the crowd—even the stadium speaker had announced the home run—highlighted the gap between the two teams in this second matchup. Darvish was in full control on the mound, going seven innings while allowing just three hits and one run, striking out three batters.
Venezuelan David Peralta hit his first postseason home run in the second inning, putting the Padres up 0-3. It was Dominican player Teoscar Hernández who finally got the Dodgers on the board in the second inning, driving in Gavin Lux with a sacrifice.
Then came the Padres' home run parade: Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts in the eighth, Kyle Higashioka in the ninth, and Tatis with his second homer of the night. With the score at 1-10, the Dodgers had one last chance at bat, but all they could manage was a solo shot from Max Muncy to make the score look a bit better before heading to San Diego on Tuesday.
Aside from the loss, the other bad news for the Dodgers was Freddie Freeman’s injury. He left the game after five innings with a right ankle issue, making his condition worse from a previous injury he’d been dealing with since September 26th.