111-win Dodgers pushed to brink as bats go cold

SAN DIEGO -- Time aft time, the Los Angeles Dodgers person enactment themselves successful premium run-scoring opportunities and failed to capitalize.

An 0-for-8 showing with runners successful scoring presumption successful Wednesday's Game 2 of the National League Division Series was followed by an 0-for-9 showing successful Friday's Game 3. Their hitless streak successful those situations has extended to 19 at-bats, tied for their longest rut of the play and marking their longest successful a azygous playoff since 1981. Now their ascendant play -- of 111 wins and a plus-334 run-differential, tied for the fourth-largest successful past -- is connected the verge of ending astatine the hands of the aforesaid San Diego Padres squad they steamrolled implicit the erstwhile six months. The postseason tin often consciousness this sudden.

"They're pitching bully close now, and we're not hitting," Dodgers archetypal baseman Freddie Freeman said aft Los Angeles' 2-1 loss astatine Petco Park, which gave the Padres a 2-1 vantage successful the best-of-five series. "We got to deed tomorrow."

San Diego autochthonal and lifelong Padres instrumentality Joe Musgrove volition instrumentality the shot successful Saturday's Game 4 successful beforehand of what promises to beryllium a frenzied location assemblage and with an accidental to extinguish a Dodgers squad that cruised to a part title. The Dodgers, who volition commencement left-hander Tyler Anderson, indispensable get past Musgrove and fig retired a mode to muster discourtesy against a Padres bullpen that has constricted their prestigious discourtesy to 9 baserunners and zero runs successful 13 innings this series.

The Padres scored connected a two-out azygous from Jake Cronenworth successful the archetypal and a first-pitch, fourth-inning location tally from Trent Grisham successful the 4th -- his 3rd this postseason, aft hitting lone 2 implicit his past 40 regular-season games. They, too, struggled offensively, going 1-for-10 with runners successful scoring presumption -- but they did enough.

"Just timely hitting," Mookie Betts said of the Dodgers' issues. "We're not stringing unneurotic a batch of at-bats to people runs."

Betts led disconnected the crippled with a azygous disconnected Blake Snell and didn't score, alternatively watching Trea Turner, Freeman and Will Smith onslaught retired successful order. It would go a theme. On 2 occasions, the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters reached basal with nary retired and the celebrated apical of the Dodgers' bid did not travel through. In the third, Betts lined out, Turner struck retired and, aft Freeman's walk, Smith popped out. In the fifth, Betts contributed a sacrifice fly, but Turner popped retired and Freeman grounded out, failing to get the tying tally successful from 3rd base.

"We're being hyper-aggressive aboriginal successful counts and not staying connected the ball," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "They're getting america with spin, they're getting america connected the extracurricular portion of the plate."

Another accidental presented itself successful the eighth, erstwhile Turner led disconnected with an infield single. Freeman, Smith and Muncy were owed up next, but Turner, the fastest antheral successful baseball, did not effort the stolen basal that would person enactment the tying tally successful scoring position. The 1 clip helium seemed to beryllium leaning toward doing so, Padres reliever Robert Suarez astir picked him off, causing Turner to jam his close ringing digit against archetypal base. Turner retreated to the dugout to get taped -- postgame X-rays connected his digit were antagonistic -- past watched the Nos. 3-5 hitters spell down successful order.

"He's beauteous speedy to the plate," Turner said of not attempting to steal. "He looks similar helium has a ample limb kick, but it's faster than you think, the times are beauteous low. He's nether [1.3 seconds from the commencement of his present to erstwhile the shot reaches the catcher's mitt] a lot, a mates 1.4's successful there, truthful you got to prime and take spots erstwhile you tin effort to instrumentality them. He was throwing the shot well, truthful I didn't privation to springiness them immoderate casual outs."

The casual outs came the pursuing inning, erstwhile Josh Hader, who has looked much similar his ascendant aforesaid of late, breezed done the bottommost portion of the Dodgers' lineup, culminating his outing with back-to-back strikeouts and igniting a sold-out, playoff-starved assemblage of 45,137.

The Dodgers won their past 9 regular-season games against the Padres successful 2021, past went 14-5 against them successful 2022, scoring much than doubly arsenic galore runs successful the play series. After 162 games, they were 22 games better. But nary of that matters now. The Padres, hosting a postseason bid with fans successful the stands for the archetypal clip since 2006, are 1 triumph distant from eliminating the squad they've been chasing for the franchise's full existence, ne'er much aggressively than successful these past 4 years.

Betts was asked if he's shocked that his star-studded squad finds itself successful this position.

"I'm not shocked astatine all," helium said. "They're a bully shot team. Regular play doesn't mean anything. They're playing well. We haven't."