2024 MLB Playoffs: Padres show they’re not intimidated by the Dodgers or anyone else in NLDS Game 3 victory

SAN DIEGO — There was a lot of noise between Game 2 and Game 3 of the NLDS. The Dodgers felt disrespected after a verbal sparring and a much-analyzed pitch from Manny Machado. The Padres felt disrespected after Fernando Tatis Jr. was drilled by Jack Flaherty, which led to a lot of chirping.

There is no love lost between these two teams. That energy and intensity created a lot of tension leading into Game 3, tension that permeated a packed Petco Park on Tuesday. Before the first ball you could feel the building shaking with anticipation.

But the Padres aren’t afraid of the Dodgers. They’re not afraid of Los Angeles’ vaunted lineup, and as they showed in Game 2, they’re not afraid of Dodger Stadium either. They know they can beat the Dodgers in October because they’ve done it before. And once the series returned to San Diego soil, the Padres were ready to let their play do the talking for them.

“Absolutely no fear,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said. about the mentality of his team. “But that’s something you build up over the years, gaining experience playing against those guys.”

For a microcosm of who this Padres team is, look no further than the second inning of Game 3, where they put the Dodgers on the brink of another elimination with a 6-5 victory in early October.

After losing Game 2 10-2, LA had to strike first Tuesday — and it did, eventually getting a lift from Mookie Betts, who snapped an 0-for-22 postseason hitless streak with a solo home run giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

But San Diego’s lineup was brutal in the second against Dodgers starter Walker Buehler – and the Dodgers’ defense. Manny Machado led off the inning with a single. Jackson Merrill followed with a ground ball to Freddie Freeman that the first baseman would normally convert into at least a force out, maybe even a double play. But this wasn’t the Dodgers’ night.

The former Gold Glove Award winner instead threw the ball into left field, allowing Machado to reach third, put Merrill on first and set the table for a monster inning for San Diego. Giving a team extra outs is never a recipe for success, and for a team with as much momentum as these Padres, that was exactly the sliver of space they needed to turn the game around and take control of the series.

Things got even worse for LA on the next play, when a slow chopper from defeated first base. Machado trotted home to score the Padres’ first run before an out was recorded in the inning.

The next batter, David Peralta, made LA pay for its defensive mistakes, hitting a two-run double down the right field line and unleashing a sold-out Petco Park crowd.

“We’re doing good, man,” Peralta, a 37-year-old veteran who signed a minor league contract with San Diego in May, said afterward. “The first day I walked into the clubhouse … they just welcomed me. They’re just a great group of guys, you know. We are all together. It’s like a brotherhood.”

What felt like a celebration for San Diego quickly turned into a disaster for Los Angeles.

“There were just balls that we couldn’t convert into outs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “And it builds up the stress in the inning.”

The Padres continued their attack after Peralta’s double and added a run on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Higashioka after a single by Jake Cronenworth. The Dodgers’ inability to convert batted balls into putouts, especially against the bottom of the Padres order, meant the lineup flipped, putting one guy on the board who doesn’t disappoint this time of year.

As he has done throughout the postseason, Tatis brought the city of San Diego to its feet with one move. And when he launched an undoubted two-run explosion from the front of the second deck that gave San Diego a 6-1 lead, one thing was clear: This Padres team will not be denied.

“I just blacked out,” Tatis said later. “I feed off that kind of energy. When the fans come, (you have) meaningful games, you leave everything you have out there. I just feel like I’m just taking it to another level: my mentality, my body, everything is just through the roof.

Tatis’ home run continued his dominance against the Dodgers – .264/.326/.544 with 19 career home runs – and in the postseason. He now has an eye-popping 1.969 OPS in October, with a .556 average and four home runs, three of which came in this series.

Even a Dodgers rally in the next inning couldn’t stop the runaway train that was the Padres. A grand slam by Teoscar Hernandez after three consecutive singles opened the door for a comeback, but San Diego’s bullpen slammed it shut. Padres starter Michael King got through five innings of work, then the electric quartet of Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Robert Suarez combined for four scoreless innings, giving up just one hit as they sealed the home team’s victory and a scored a goal. possible series-clinching Game 4 on Wednesday.

But let’s be clear: To say that all the talk before Game 3 fueled this Padres team would be to ignore the fact that they didn’t actually need a boost. San Diego had the best record in baseball after the All-Star break, and after beating the Braves in the wild-card round and gaining a firm grip on this NLDS, with a chance to send the Dodgers home, they look like the best team in baseball.

When you compare the Dodgers and Padres, the main difference isn’t the caliber of players or the environment at the ballpark; it’s the mentality in the clubhouse. From Game 1, the Dodgers had all the pressure on them. Their victory in the first match of this series felt more like a sigh of relief than a victory.

San Diego, on the other hand, played carefree in these playoffs, seemingly without regard to tomorrow. The Padres play every game like it could be their last, which is why they are the most dangerous team left on the field.

“I really appreciate this group, the way they compete and the way they conduct themselves,” manager Mike Shildt said. “Proud of this group. I love them.”