The events unfolding on Sunday night for Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium were almost too bizarre to believe.
Los Angeles fans throwing things at Padres outfielders. San Diego 3rd baseman Manny Machado accusing Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty of hitting Fernando Tatis Jr. on purpose while Flaherty fired back with accusations of Machado throwing baseballs into the Dodgers dugout.
San Diego Padres:
Those are the things that stick in the minds of most baseball fans. But the important part of that night was the final score. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts summed up a 10-2 Padres win pretty well from the L.A. perspective.
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“It was ugly," Roberts said. "That's one of those that you just kind of want to wash away and get to the next day."
Yeah, I suppose being the first home team in history to give up 6 home runs in a playoff game is something you might not want to put on a resume.
The Padres, on the other hand, are trying to put Sunday night behind them for a different reason: all that emotion of the interactive fan experience needs to be flushed because they still have a job to do.
“Yes! Yes. And tomorrow's going to be a different game, a new game,” says Jurickson Profar, one of the players who had projectiles hurled his way. “We’re just going out there and playing our brand of baseball.”
It’s not like Fernando Tatis Jr. needs any more energy. The Padres outfielder is locked into some kind of groove. In the playoffs he’s 9-for-14 with five extra-base hits and hasn’t struck out yet. Oh, and as usual, he is bringing ALL the swag to San Diego.
“His personality, I love it. I love our personality of our club,” says manager Mike Shildt. “I love the fact that they're unique and they're there themselves. All our guys are free to be them. But they do it in a team setting with their teammates at the forefront of it.”
On the mound, the Padres are going with Michael King. He’s coming off a masterpiece in the Wild Card opener: 7.0 shutout innings against the Braves with 12 punchouts in his first ever postseason start.
“I'll definitely take a little bit of confidence from it, but definitely needs to be flushed because it's a totally different team,” says King. “I’ve got a totally different approach. I can't use the same sequences, can't use the same pitches, to a lot of these hitters. Then it's just continuing to be able to read swings and trust Higgy (catcher Kyle Higashioka).”
King’s teammates have been infinitely impressed with the centerpiece of the Juan Soto trade, who is putting together the best year of his career and keeps getting better.
“He’s been pretty good. Pretty good for us,” says 3rd baseman Machado Machado. “Game on the line, let’s come back home, I don’t think we would rather have anybody on the mound than Michael.”
Recent history against the Dodgers supports that belief. In his last two starts against L.A., King has thrown 12.0 innings, allowing one run with 14 strikeouts. Two weeks ago at Dodger Stadium, he was the winning pitcher in the game that put the Padres into the playoffs.
The Dodgers will counter with Walker Buehler, who has struggled with consistency since returning from Tommy John surgery (the same elbow reconstruction procedure Joe Musgrove will undergo in the coming weeks). For what it’s worth, the oddsmakers in Las Vegas have the Padres favored to win Game 3 and the series.
Tuesday night’s tilt at Petco Park will start at 6:08 p.m.
