Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a powerful two-run home run that was part of a six-run second inning, helping the San Diego Padres defeat Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 on Tuesday night. This victory gave the Padres a 2-1 lead in the tight NL Division Series.
With this win, the Padres are just one game away from knocking out the Dodgers in the NLDS for the second time in three years. Game 4 will be on Wednesday night at Petco Park, where a record crowd of 47,744 waved rally towels and cheered loudly.
The fans went wild when Robert Suarez struck out Gavin Lux on a full-count pitch, securing a four-out save.
Tatis mentioned how he draws energy from the crowd. “I feel like I take it to another level; my mindset, my body. Everything is through the roof,” Tatis said.
Manager Mike Shildt commented, “He likes it. He’s one of the many guys on our team that appreciates and enjoys bright lights and embraces it. He just wants to go play and perform.”
Tatis’ impressive home run gave the Padres a 6-1 lead, but Teoscar Hernández responded with a grand slam in the third inning, bringing the Dodgers within one run.
Mookie Betts also hit a home run for the Dodgers, ending his 0-for-22 playoff slump. He seemed to think left fielder Jurickson Profar had robbed him of a home run again, just like during Sunday night’s game, when tensions flared.
Betts rounded first base and started heading toward the dugout until teammates and even pitcher Michael King signaled that it was indeed a home run.
Tatis’ hit into the left-field seats was his third of the series, putting him just one short of the NLDS record held by Carlos Beltran (2004, Houston) and Nick Castellanos (2023, Philadelphia).
Tatis had two of San Diego’s six home runs on Sunday night. He celebrated by watching the ball soar, flipping his bat, and signaling to the dugout before starting his home run trot.
“When I hit it I just blacked out, started screaming at my dugout. Energy through the roof,” the dreadlocked Dominican said.
“I made a bad 0-2 pitch and he does what he does,” said losing pitcher Walker Buehler. In five playoff games, Tatis has a remarkable record of 10 hits in 18 at-bats (.556), with an OPS of 1.969, four home runs, and no strikeouts.
King earned his second win in two playoff starts after giving up five runs and five hits in five innings, while recording three strikeouts and one walk.
This came after his impressive performance in the first game of the Wild Card Series against Atlanta, where he became the first pitcher ever to achieve 12 strikeouts without allowing any runs or walks in a postseason debut, leading to San Diego’s 4-0 victory.
The Dodgers are facing the possibility of being eliminated in the NLDS for the third consecutive year.
“I like how we fought after we came back after that six-run inning,” Freddie Freeman said. “I know Dodgers fans don’t want to hear about fighting and stuff, but I think the positive is Mookie got some hits today and things are looking good.”
Betts gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first inning after some confusion.
He hit a fly ball to the left-field corner with one out, almost mirroring a similar hit from Dodger Stadium on Sunday night, when Profar leaped into the crowd to catch it. After making the catch, Profar entertained the fans by staring at them and bouncing up and down before throwing the ball back to the infield.
On Tuesday night, Profar jumped again but couldn’t catch the ball, which bounced off his glove and into the crowd. Betts rounded first base and started to head toward the dugout before he reached second. His teammates, including Max Muncy, urged him to keep running, while King signaled that it was a fair ball.
Betts continued his run after getting his first playoff hit since Game 3 of the 2022 NLDS against San Diego, which the Padres won in four games.
San Diego’s big second-inning rally came against Buehler, who was making his first playoff start since Game 6 of the NLCS against Atlanta. Buehler missed the entire 2023 season due to a second Tommy John surgery in August 2022.
The first five Padres batters reached base and scored. Xander Bogaerts brought in a run with a fielder’s choice, and David Peralta hit a two-run double. Kyle Higashioka added a sacrifice fly two batters before Tatis hit his home run with two outs.
Manny Machado hit a single to start the game and made it to third base after first baseman Freeman fielded a grounder from Jackson Merrill and accidentally hit Machado on the shoulder while throwing to second from his knees.
Buehler also pitched five innings, giving up six runs and seven hits, with no strikeouts and one walk.
“You can’t give up six runs in an inning in the playoffs and expect to win,” Buehler said. “I put us in a really bad spot and we fought back, but the spot was too big.”
The Dodgers began the third inning by loading the bases with consecutive singles from Miguel Rojas, Ohtani, and Betts. Then, Hernández hit a huge home run to center field.
Ohtani went 1 for 4 and struck out twice. He hit a three-run homer in the Dodgers’ Game 1 win, but in the two losses, he has struggled, going 1 for 8 and striking out four times.
