This game is the second of a three-game series between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers held from September 25 to 27 at Dodger Stadium. It marks the twelfth matchup of the season between the two teams. Both teams fielded their standout starting pitchers for the season, with Dylan Cease starting for the Padres and Jack Flaherty taking the mound for the Dodgers.

The analysis of this game will be divided into two parts, as follows:

Part 1/2

• Pre-game forecast
• Game highlights
• Performance of Dodgers’ starting pitcher Jack Flaherty
• Performance of Padres’ starting pitcher Dylan Cease
• Performance of both teams’ bullpens

Part 2/2

• Batting performance of both teams
• Defensive performance of both teams
• Tactical details of both teams
• Aspects both teams need to focus on for the remainder of the season
• Summary

⚾️ Pre-game Forecast ⚾️

Currently, both the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers have five more games left, including the next two at Dodger Stadium, which includes the game analyzed here and another on September 27.

Currently, the Dodgers have a record of 93 wins and 64 losses, a winning percentage of .592, while the Padres are at 91 wins and 66 losses, with a .580 winning percentage. The Dodgers lead the Padres by 2.0 games in the NL West division. In the previous game, the Padres defeated the Dodgers 4:2, securing their playoff spot. Therefore, the key to this series is who will clinch the NL West title, and who will have to compete in the wildcard game.

In the wildcard competition, the Padres currently hold the first wildcard spot, leading the Mets by 4.0 games. The Padres’ magic number for securing the second wildcard spot is 2, and if they can maintain stable performance in the upcoming games, they can ensure home-field advantage in the NL Wild Card Game even if they do not win the division title.

In the 11 games they’ve played this season, the Padres have secured 8 wins, thus holding the advantage in this series. Therefore, if the season ends with the teams tied, the Padres will claim the NL West title based on their head-to-head record.

(Dodgers’ pitching, hitting, and defensive data)

This season, the Dodgers have shown strong offensive performance. Their team batting average of .256 ranks fifth in the league, their on-base percentage of .333 is third, and their slugging percentage of .444 leads the league. Additionally, the Dodgers have hit a total of 225 home runs, ranking third in the majors and first in the National League. Moreover, their team wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus) of 117 is the best in the majors, demonstrating their comprehensive offensive threat.

However, in terms of pitching and defense, the Dodgers’ performance is relatively average. Their team ERA of 3.95 ranks 15th in the league, which is a mid-tier performance. The starting pitchers have a team ERA of 4.24, ranking 19th in the league, but their relievers have performed better, with an ERA of 3.63, ranking seventh in the league.

Defensively, the Dodgers have committed 86 errors this season, tying with the San Francisco Giants for 18th in the league. Additionally, in many advanced defensive metrics, the Dodgers’ performance is generally below the league average.

Overall, this year’s Dodgers are an “offensive-oriented team" whose offensive firepower is clearly superior to their pitching and defense. If the Dodgers can continue to demonstrate their powerful offense in the upcoming games, it will greatly assist their dominance in the NL West. This offensive advantage will be key to their quest for the division title.

(Padres’ pitching, hitting, and defensive performance)

As for the Padres’ offensive performance, their team batting average of .265 ranks first in the league, their on-base percentage of .326 is fifth, and although their slugging percentage of .422 is not outstanding, it is still among the top 10 in the league (seventh).
Moreover, this year, the Padres’ wRC+ is an impressive 112, ranking fifth in the league. Although the Padres’ overall offense may not be as strong as the Dodgers’, they are still a potent offensive team.

As for their pitching performance, the team’s ERA is 3.83, ranking 11th in the league, with the starting pitchers at 3.88, ranking 12th, and the relievers at 3.74, also 11th in the league. Overall, although the Padres’ pitching performance from both the starters and relievers isn’t very prominent, it is sufficiently stable, which they have shown better than the Dodgers in this regard.

In terms of defensive performance, the Padres have committed a total of 71 errors this season, tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for fifth in the league. Their error control is quite good, but in many advanced metrics, the Padres’ defense isn’t particularly outstanding, ranking in the lower half of the league in many indicators.

Overall, the Padres have a more balanced distribution of pitching, hitting, and defensive metrics compared to the Dodgers. This comprehensive performance is a significant advantage they can rely on when competing with the Dodgers for the NL West title. If the Padres can leverage this balance in the subsequent games, they will have considerable competitiveness.

(Los Angeles Dodgers – Pre-game Analysis of Jack Flaherty’s Pitching)

In this game, Dodgers’ starting pitcher Jack Flaherty has played for two teams this season, the Detroit Tigers and the current Los Angeles Dodgers. Flaherty joined the Dodgers mainly because the team wanted to strengthen its somewhat weak starting rotation. Therefore, on July 30, the Dodgers traded two minor league prospects, Thayron Lorenzo and Trey Sweeney, to the Detroit Tigers for the then-outstandingly performing Flaherty, to enhance their overall strength.

Jack Flaherty has accumulated 27 starts this season, achieving 13 wins and 7 losses, with an ERA of 3.10, pitching a total of 157 innings, and striking out 189 batters with only 35 walks. His strikeout rate is impressive (K% 30.1%), and his K/BB ratio is a high 5.40, showing excellent control.

Additionally, after joining the Dodgers, Flaherty has started 9 games, achieving 6 wins and 2 losses, with an ERA of 3.40. Although this ERA is slightly higher than his 2.95 during his time with the Tigers (18 starts), and many of his pitching metrics are not as good as they were with the Tigers, the Dodgers’ lineup is more threatening than the Tigers’, providing him with stronger support. Especially in terms of run support (average runs per nine innings that his teammates help the pitcher score), his run support during his time with the Tigers was 4.39, while with the Dodgers, it has increased to 8.05. This has significantly accelerated his pace of winning games with the Dodgers.

As a right-handed pitcher, Flaherty’s ability to suppress left-handed hitters is even better than against right-handed hitters. This season, his batting average against right-handed hitters is .228, with an OPS of .707, while against left-handed hitters, his batting average is .229, with an OPS reduced to .614, showing he has stable suppression ability against both left and right-handed hitters.

Jack Flaherty’s performance this season has significantly improved compared to last year, with his ERA dropping from 4.99 to 3.10, and his FIP from 4.36 to 3.41. This improvement is mainly attributed to his greatly improved control, with his walk rate (BB%) dropping from 10.2% to 5.6%, and his batting average against also dropping from last year’s .283 to .222, showing increased suppression power against hitters.

Overall, Flaherty is a pitcher with a flyball tendency, slightly leaning towards flyballs over groundballs. In the last four complete seasons (2021-2024), his groundball-to-flyball ratio has been between 0.8 and 1.2, with three of those seasons having a ratio below 1.0, and this season’s ratio at 0.88, showing his tendency to generate flyball outs.

Flaherty’s primary pitch is a four-seam fastball (44.3%), often paired with a slider (29.3%) and a curveball (21.2%). The batting averages against these three pitches are all below .250, especially the curveball, with only .167. Both the slider and curveball have a swing-and-miss rate over 35.0%, with the curveball’s swing-and-miss rate reaching 44.1%.

Although Flaherty’s four-seam fastball is not particularly fast, with an average velocity of 93.4 mph this season, he still performs quite well in suppressing hitters due to his precise control of the pitch’s entry point.

Jack Flaherty has started 5 games against the San Diego Padres in his career, all occurring before this year. In these 5 games, he has pitched a total of 25 1/3 innings, with an ERA of 4.26, striking out 28 batters and issuing 15 walks. However, Flaherty has not performed well in his recent two matchups against the Padres, pitching a total of 9 innings with a high ERA of 10.00. Especially in his last game (then with the

Baltimore Orioles), he only pitched 3 innings, giving up 7 runs, all earned.

(San Diego Padres – Pre-game Analysis of Dylan Cease’s Pitching)

The Padres’ starting pitcher for this game is Dylan Cease, who was traded from the Chicago White Sox to the San Diego Padres this season. This season, he has appeared in 32 games, all as a starter, accumulating 184 1/3 innings pitched, with an ERA of 3.42, and striking out 220 batters with 62 walks. Notably, Cease’s K/BB ratio has reached a career-high of 3.55, and his 220 strikeouts currently rank fourth in the majors and second in the National League.

Cease is a right-handed pitcher, but he has strong suppression ability against both left and right-handed hitters. Against left-handed hitters, his batting average against is only .207, with an OPS of .640; against right-handed hitters, the batting average drops to .191, with an OPS of only .559. It is precisely because of his outstanding suppression performance against hitters from both sides that he has achieved such brilliant results this season.

Compared to last year, Cease’s performance has significantly improved. Last year, while with the White Sox, his ERA was 4.58, which has dropped to 3.42 this year; his FIP also improved from 3.72 last year to 3.09 this year. This improvement is closely related to his reduced walk rate (from 10.1% to 8.4%), and his batting average against has dropped from .247 to .196, showing a significant increase in overall suppression power.

Cease’s predominantly flyball pitching style has also changed, with his groundball percentage in the previous four seasons (2020-2023) all below 40%, last year at 36.0%, and this year increasing to 40.3%. His groundball-to-flyball ratio this season is 0.79, the highest in the last four years (2021-2024).

His primary pitches are a four-seam fastball (usage rate 43.6%) and a slider (usage rate 42.6%), both with a usage rate over 40%. This season, the average velocities of these two pitches have both increased, with the four-seam fastball’s average velocity rising from 95.6 mph to 96.9 mph, and the slider from 86.3 mph to 87.6 mph. Combined with both pitches’ spin rates exceeding 2500 rpm, he has displayed stronger suppression power this season. The batting average against the four-seam fastball has dropped from last year’s .273 to .232, and the slider’s batting average against has improved from .216 to .157.

Additionally, Cease occasionally uses a curveball (usage rate 8.0%) and a cutter (usage rate 4.2%), both with average spin rates exceeding 2700 rpm.

This year is Cease’s first time playing in the National League, but he has had 3 career appearances against the Dodgers, two of which were during his time with the White Sox. In his career with the Padres, he has only started once against the Dodgers. In the 3 career games against the Dodgers, Cease has pitched a total of 15 2/3 innings, with an ERA of just 1.72, striking out 24 batters and issuing 9 walks. His most recent appearance against the Dodgers was on July 31, 2024, at his home Petco Park, where he pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing 1 earned run, striking out 6 batters, and issuing 3 walks, earning the win.

⚾️ Game Highlights ⚾️

Here are the highlights of this game:
Video source / MLB official YouTube

(1st Inning / SD 0:1 LAD)

In the bottom of the first inning, Dodgers’ leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani initially drew a walk. Although the following Mookie Betts hit a high fly ball to second base and was caught out, the Dodgers’ offensive momentum was not interrupted.

Ohtani advanced to second base on a wild pitch by Dylan Cease, and although Freddie Freeman was struck out, Teoscar Hernandez immediately hit a single, successfully bringing Ohtani home to score, giving the Dodgers a 1:0 lead.

Subsequently, Dodgers’ fifth hitter Max Muncy also drew a walk, but Dylan Cease eventually managed to get the next batter, Will Smith, to hit a fly ball to right field, ending the half-inning’s offense.

(2nd Inning / SD 2:1 LAD)

In the top of the second inning, Padres’ leadoff hitter Manny Machado drew a walk, followed by super rookie Jackson Merrill (who even has a chance to compete for the NL Rookie of the Year) hitting a ground-rule double to right field, quickly putting runners on second and third base with no outs.

Next, Xander Bogaerts hit a line-drive single to left field, tying the game at 1:1, and putting runners on first and third base.

However, Dodgers’ starting pitcher Jack Flaherty managed to stabilize his footing, getting Jake Cronenworth to hit a ground ball to second base. Although the Padres took a 2:1 lead, Flaherty successfully captured the half-inning’s first out. Subsequently, Flaherty struck out the Padres’ next two batters, Donovan Solano and Elias Diaz, successfully mitigating a potential major offensive threat by the Padres and preventing further damage.

(3rd Inning / SD 2:1 LAD)

In the top of the third inning, Padres’ leadoff hitter Luis Arraez initially hit a pop-up to the shortstop direction, but Dodgers’ shortstop Miguel Rojas reacted quickly, catching the ball for an out, denying Arraez a likely hit.

However, the next batter, Fernando Tatis Jr, then hit a line-drive ground-rule double to left field, giving the Padres a scoring opportunity with a runner on third base. Subsequently, with the help of Jurickson Profar’s ground ball, the runner advanced to third base. Although the following batter, Manny Machado, drew a walk and successfully stole second base, putting runners on second and third with 2 outs, unfortunately for the Padres, the next batter, Jackson Merrill, hit a fly ball to right field, caught by Dodgers’ right fielder Mookie Betts, leaving runners on second and third stranded.

(4th Inning / SD 2:3 LAD)

In the bottom of the fourth inning, despite Dylan Cease initially managing to secure two outs smoothly, with 2 outs, Dodgers’ Tommy Edman hit a line-drive double to right field, followed by the next batter, Gavin Lux, hitting a line-drive single to center field, helping the Dodgers tie the game at 2:2.

The Padres immediately called a timeout, but Dylan Cease’s predicament was not over yet. Subsequently, he walked the ninth batter, Miguel Rojas, on a full count, and then was hit by a line-drive by the hot-hitting Shohei Ohtani, a double off the wall to right field, allowing the Dodgers to take a 3:2 lead.

Although the Dodgers successfully took the lead, Cease eventually got Mookie Betts to hit a foul fly ball to first base, caught for an out, successfully ending the half-inning’s Dodgers’ offense. However, when Ohtani hit the double, the runner on first base, Miguel Rojas, experienced tightness in his left hip during the base running process, and after this inning ended, the Dodgers’ coaching staff chose to have him leave the game early.

(5th Inning / SD 3:3 LAD)

In the top of the fifth inning, Dodgers’ starting pitcher Jack Flaherty initially managed to secure two outs smoothly by inducing ground balls for outs from the Padres’ batters. At this time, due to Dodgers’ shortstop Miguel Rojas leaving the game due to discomfort in his left hip during the previous half-inning, the coaching staff moved center fielder Tommy Edman to the shortstop position, with Andy Pages replacing Rojas in the batting order, guarding center field.

However, facing Fernando Tatis Jr, who had successfully reached base in his first two at-bats, Flaherty threw a high inside fastball, which was precisely targeted by Tatis Jr, hitting a 448-foot home run to left field, helping the Padres tie the game at 3:3.

Although this home run boosted the Padres’ morale, and according to MLB’s official website, the Padres’ probability of winning the game increased by 14.8% as a result, Flaherty subsequently stabilized his position, striking out Jurickson Profar with a high outside fastball, successfully ending the Padres’ offensive threat.

(6th Inning / SD 3:4 LAD)

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Padres switched Jeremiah Estrada to replace Dylan Cease as the pitcher. Estrada, before this game, had appeared in 60 games this season, achieving 6 wins and 2 losses, pitching 59 2/3 innings with an ERA of 2.87. During the 11 games in September, he pitched 9 1/3 innings, did not allow a run, and was only hit once, with a batting average against of just .034.

However, as soon as Estrada came on, he walked Will Smith and Tommy Edman. Although he subsequently struck out Gavin Lux and got Andy Pages to hit a fly ball to center field for an out, facing the next left-handed batter, Shohei Ohtani, the Padres’ coaching staff decided to bring in left-handed pitcher Adrian More

jon to face him.

Ohtani, with a count of 2 balls and 2 strikes, hit a line-drive single through the middle, allowing the Dodgers to take a 4:3 lead, with Tommy Edman also advancing to third base. Subsequently, Ohtani stole second base, completing his 56th successful steal of the season.

However, the next batter, Mookie Betts, who had failed to reach base in his previous three at-bats, still hit a fly ball to the shortstop direction, caught for an out, leaving the Dodgers with runners on second and third, unable to further extend the lead.

(7th Inning / SD 3:4 LAD)

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Dodgers’ batter Freddie Freeman hit a line-drive double to left-center field. Subsequently, considering the next batter, Teoscar Hernandez, was a right-handed hitter, the Padres decided to bring in right-handed pitcher Bryan Hoeing to face him.

Teoscar Hernandez, facing the Padres’ fourth pitcher of the game, Bryan Hoeing, initially hit a strong ground ball to the shortstop direction. Although the ball was fierce, it was spectacularly intercepted by shortstop Donovan Solano, who successfully threw to first base for the out. Subsequently, Max Muncy drew a walk. However, the following strong-hitting catcher, Will Smith, hit a ground ball to the shortstop direction, resulting in a 6-4-3 double play, ending the Dodgers’ half-inning of offense without further extending the lead.

(9th Inning / SD 3:4 LAD)

In the top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers brought in “fireballer" Michael Kopech to pitch, attempting to complete the save task.

First, Kopech faced Jackson Merrill, and with a count of 1 ball and 0 strikes, got Merrill to hit a ground ball to first base for an out. Although Merrill, with his fast speed, nearly reached base safely, he ultimately could not avoid the out.

Subsequently, Kopech faced Xander Bogaerts, and with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike, got him to hit a ground ball to second base, successfully making the out, forming the inning’s second out.

Afterward, facing Jake Cronenworth, due to Kopech’s fastball not being pressed down, he allowed Cronenworth to draw a walk, putting him on base. At this time, the Padres switched in Brandon Lockridge as a pinch runner, who successfully stole second base with a count of 0 balls and 1 strike, putting the Padres in a scoring position with a runner on second base, where a short outfield hit could potentially tie the game.

However, Michael Kopech ultimately struck out Donovan Solano with a 101 mph four-seam fastball on the inside corner, successfully neutralizing the threat. The Dodgers won 4:3, reducing their magic number to clinch the division title to 2, also ending the Padres’ 4-game winning streak against the Dodgers. If the Dodgers can defeat the Padres again tomorrow, they can secure the NL West championship.

⚾️ Performance of Dodgers’ Starting Pitcher Jack Flaherty ⚾️

In this game, Jack Flaherty’s catching partner was Will Smith, who has been his consistent catcher since he joined the Dodgers. This season, Flaherty has pitched 50 1/3 innings for the Dodgers, all caught by Will Smith, maintaining a stable partnership.

Here are Jack Flaherty’s pitching stats for this game:

• Innings pitched: 5 1/3 innings
• Hits allowed: 4
• Runs & Earned Runs: 3 runs, 3 earned
• Balls and Strikes: 59 strikes, 41 balls
• Strikeouts: 5 K
• Walks: 3 BB
• Hit by pitch: 0 HBP
• Home runs: 0 HR
• Groundouts: 6 GO
• Flyouts: 3 AO
• Win-Loss performance: No decision

In this game, Jack Flaherty pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, including Fernando Tatis Jr’s game-tying home run in the top of the fifth inning. Flaherty’s ratio of balls to strikes was high in this game, reaching 41.0% (41/100), making it a tough game in terms of pitch count. Although he still displayed good strikeout ability, striking out 5 batters, he also gave up 3 walks, particularly with one walk in each of the first three innings, which showed some struggle in his performance.

In this game, Jack Flaherty’s primary pitches did not perform well in terms of speed and spin rate, with the two metrics (speed and spin rate) for all three main pitches (four-seam fastball, curveball, slider) being below this season’s averages. In addition to the pitches not performing as expected, Flaherty also did not achieve ideal results in terms of luring hitters to the strike zone, with many pitches clearly too low, which was a major reason for his difficult pitching in this game. These factors led to his inability to effectively suppress hitters, making his overall performance appear strained.

In this battle, Jack Flaherty’s performance against the first round of batters was less than ideal, issuing 2 walks and being hit for 2 singles. Although he was able to effectively generate groundouts, the initial speed of the opposing batters’ hits was generally high (many close to 95 mph, belonging to strong ground ball hits). Even when facing the first few batters of the second round, there were multiple instances of strong hits.

In the top of the third inning, Flaherty immediately allowed Luis Arraez to hit a pop-up to the shortstop direction at the start, although the hit speed was not fast (86.3 mph), the hitting position was quite tricky. However, Dodgers’ shortstop Miguel Rojas made a spectacular catch, resulting in an out. Following that, Fernando Tatis Jr hit a strong double to left field, with a hit speed of 110.8 mph. From the results, if not for Miguel Rojas’ spectacular defense, Flaherty might have faced a greater risk of losing runs in this inning.

Overall, Jack Flaherty’s best performance in this game was in the fourth inning. In that inning, he consecutively struck out Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth, and finally got Donovan Solano to hit a fly ball to right field for an out, completing his only three up, three down inning. In this inning, Flaherty’s pitch suppression was appropriate, able to pitch at low angles. Although the fastball’s speed was not high (generally below 90 mph), he successfully got outs through precise pitch locations.

In the latter half of the game, Flaherty’s control of low-angle pitches was noticeably better than in the earlier innings, able to keep most low-angle pitches within or close to the strike zone, significantly improving compared to the deviation in low-angle entry points in the earlier part of the game, helping him generate more groundball outs.

However, it was somewhat regrettable for Flaherty that when facing Fernando Tatis Jr. in the third round, the pitch entry point was too high. With a count of 1 ball and 2 strikes, a high fastball was targeted by Tatis Jr, hitting a game-tying home run. Additionally, since the Dodgers did not score in the bottom of the fifth inning, Flaherty left the game tied at 3:3, ultimately not affecting the win or loss.

⚾️ Performance of Padres’ Starting Pitcher Dylan Cease ⚾️

In this game, Dylan Cease’s catching partner was Elias Diaz (Diaz was released by the Colorado Rockies at the end of August and subsequently signed a minor league contract with the Padres). The 19 1/3 innings that Cease has pitched with Diaz as his catcher have resulted in an ERA of just 1.49, with an opposing batting average of only .159 and an OPS of just .419, indicating that their cooperation performs exceptionally well, with strong suppression ability.

Here are Dylan Cease’s pitching stats for this game:

• Innings pitched: 5 1/3 innings
• Hits allowed: 5
• Runs & Earned Runs: 3 runs, 3 earned
• Balls and Strikes: 57 strikes, 40 balls
• Strikeouts: 4 K
• Walks: 3 BB
• Hit by pitch: 0 HBP
• Home runs: 0 HR
• Groundouts: 4 GO
• Flyouts: 7 AO
• Win-Loss performance: No decision

In this game, Dylan Cease pitched a total of 5 1/3 innings, allowing 5 hits, striking out 4 batters, and walking 3, with an overall poor control performance (related to the high ball rate of 41.24%). Additionally, he generated 4 groundouts and 7 flyouts.

Before this game, Dylan Cease had pitched a total of 14 1/3 innings in his previous two starts (American date 9/13 away against the San Francisco Giants and 9/18 home against the Houston Astros), allowing only 6 hits and no runs, ultimately earning the win in both games. In these two games, Cease’s catcher was also Elias Diaz. Therefore, the Padres’ coaching staff chose to pair Cease with Diaz again in this crucial game, which could potentially narrow the victory gap.

However, Cease’s control of pitches showed significant deviations in this game, with many pitches entering obvious “high-angle bad ball" and “low-angle bad ball" zones. The high-angle bad balls mainly came from fast

balls, while the low-angle bad balls were primarily sliders. Overall, Cease’s pitches entering the strike zone accounted for only 38%, causing him to struggle significantly in this game.

It is worth noting that Dylan Cease’s main two pitches (four-seam fastball and slider) performed quite well in terms of speed in this game, and combined with the excellent spin rate of these two pitches, even with suboptimal control, he was still able to generate a large amount of swing-and-miss. His overall swing-and-miss rate in this game was as high as 41%, indicating that despite unstable control, he still possessed strong suppression power. Therefore, Cease’s unstable control made this game even more regrettable, as he originally had the potential to pitch more smoothly.

In this game, Dylan Cease, although successfully creating two three up, three down situations (the 2nd and 5th innings) during his pitching from the 1st to the 5th inning, was unable to effectively control critical situations, preventing him from effectively resolving pressure situations. This also made his overall pitching performance less than ideal on paper, pitching a full 5 innings with 3 runs allowed, all earned, and failing to achieve the expected suppression effect.

⚾️ Performance of Both Teams’ Bullpens ⚾️

In this game, both teams’ starting pitchers had the same line score, both pitching 5 innings and allowing 3 earned runs. At the end of the bottom of the fifth inning, the Padres and Dodgers were tied at 3:3.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Padres’ bullpen ran into trouble, with Shohei Ohtani hitting a single from Padres’ left-handed pitcher Adrian Morejon with two outs and runners on first and second, helping the Dodgers score the go-ahead run. This was the only score from the 6th to the 9th inning by either team.

The Dodgers’ bullpen performed steadily, pitching a total of 4 innings using 4 pitchers (each pitching an inning on paper), and did not allow the Padres’ hitters to get any hits. Ultimately, the Padres were unable to mount a comeback, losing to the Dodgers 3:4.

(Dodgers’ Bullpen)

In the top of the sixth inning, after Jack Flaherty had thrown 100 pitches, the Dodgers replaced him with left-handed pitcher Alex Vesia. Although the next batters he faced, Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Xander Bogaerts, included two right-handed hitters, due to Vesia’s suppression ability against both left and right-handed hitters this season and his recent good form, the Dodgers’ coaching staff decided to have him come out in a tied game to face the Padres’ middle-order power hitters.

Although Vesia allowed Machado and Merrill to hit fly balls, both were caught by Dodgers’ outfielders. He subsequently walked Bogaerts, but Bogaerts eventually was caught stealing, forming a de facto three up, three down.

In the top of the seventh inning, the Dodgers had already taken a 4:3 lead in the bottom of the sixth, and the coaching staff decided to let Vesia continue pitching, facing left-handed hitter Jake Cronenworth. This deployment may be related to Cronenworth’s poor performance against left-handed pitchers this season. However, Vesia eventually walked Cronenworth, unable to complete the cross-inning task given by the coaching staff.

Subsequently, the Dodgers brought in right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips to face the Padres’ 8th, 9th, and 1st batters. The coaching staff’s choice might be based on Phillips’ excellent performance in the seventh inning this season (before the game, Phillips had pitched 6 1/3 innings in the seventh inning with an ERA of 0.00), having him face the Padres’ lower-order right-handed hitters Solano and Diaz.

Phillips performed well, first striking out Donovan Solano. The Padres, in response to the Dodgers’ switch to a right-handed pitcher, also sent left-handed hitter David Peralta to pinch hit, but Peralta hit a ground ball to second base, Cronenworth was tagged out at second, two outs, runner on first. Subsequently, Phillips successfully got Luis Arraez to hit a fly ball to the shortstop direction, caught for an out, ending the Padres’ offense.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Dodgers brought in veteran Blake Treinen to replace Phillips, related to Treinen’s excellent pitching performance in September (before the game, 9 innings without allowing a run). Treinen successfully pitched a three up, three down, preventing the Padres from launching a counterattack.

In the top of the ninth inning, the current closer, Michael Kopech, came on. He first created two groundball outs. Although he faced difficulties with his fastball against Cronenworth, allowing him to walk, the Padres switched in Brandon Lockridge as a pinch runner, who successfully stole second base, creating a scoring opportunity for the Padres with a runner on second base, where a short outfield hit could potentially tie the game.

However, Michael Kopech eventually regained control and struck out Donovan Solano with a 101 mph four-seam fastball on the inside corner, successfully neutralizing the threat. The Padres ultimately left a runner on second base, losing to the Dodgers 3:4.

(Padres’ Bullpen)

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Padres chose to replace Dylan Cease, who had thrown 97 pitches, with Jeremiah Estrada, who had been performing well this season and had been in excellent recent form. Estrada, before this game, had gone 11 consecutive games without allowing a run, and had not issued a walk in 9 consecutive games.

However, after Estrada came on in this game, he walked Will Smith and Tommy Edman, putting runners on first and second for the Dodgers. Although he subsequently struck out Gavin Lux and got Andy Pages to hit a fly ball to center field for an out, because the next batter was the hot-hitting left-handed Shohei Ohtani, and Ohtani’s batting performance against right-handed pitchers this season was significantly better than against left-handed pitchers, the Padres’ manager decided to bring in left-handed pitcher Adrian Morejon to face him.

Ultimately, Adrian Morejon, with a count of 2 balls and 2 strikes, was hit by Shohei Ohtani for a line-drive single through the middle, allowing the Dodgers to take a 4:3 lead. Subsequently, Ohtani also successfully stole second base, completing his 56th steal of the season. However, Morejon then got the underperforming Mookie Betts (0 for 3 in previous at-bats) to hit a fly ball to the shortstop direction, ending the Dodgers’ offense.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Padres’ coaching staff let Morejon continue pitching, mainly considering the next batter was left-handed hitter Freddie Freeman. However, Morejon was unable to successfully handle Freeman, who hit a line-drive double to left field, failing to complete the coaching staff’s task.

The Padres then brought in right-handed pitcher Bryan Hoeing to face right-handed hitter Teoscar Hernandez. Hoeing had been scoreless in five consecutive games, and was in good form. Although Hernandez hit a strong ground ball to the shortstop direction, it was spectacularly intercepted by shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who threw to first base for the out. Although Hoeing subsequently walked Max Muncy, he eventually got Will Smith to hit into a 6-4-3 double play, neutralizing a great scoring opportunity for the Dodgers.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Padres’ coaching staff let Hoeing continue pitching. He first got Tommy Edman to hit a ground ball to the pitcher’s direction for an out, but was then hit for a line-drive single to left field by Gavin Lux. Since the next batter, Andy Pages, was replaced by left-handed defensive player Kevin Kiermaier, the Padres’ coaching staff chose to bring in left-handed pitcher Wandy Peralta to face him.

The Dodgers then chose to send right-handed hitter Kike Hernandez to pinch hit. However, Kike Hernandez ultimately hit into a 5-4-3 double play, ending the Dodgers’ offense and effectively achieving a three up, three down situation.

This article (Part 1/2) ends here. The next article (Part 2/2) will focus on the following sections:

• Batting performance of both teams
• Defensive performance of both teams
• Tactical details of both teams
• Aspects both teams need to focus on for the remainder of the season
• Summary

Data sources /
MLB official APP
MLB ESPN
Fangraphs
Baseball Reference
Wikipedia
Baseball Savant
ET Today Sports Cloud