X-rays on Trea Turner’s finger negative; status for Game 4 unclear
SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers lost Game 3, but they may have avoided losing their star shortstop for Game 4.
Trea Turner, who injured his right ring finger sliding into first base in the eighth inning, said X-rays on the finger were negative. His status for Game 4 on Friday will depend on how the finger feels. He said the biggest test will be whether he can grip a bat.
Padres reliever Robert Suarez caught Turner leaning the wrong way leading off first base with no outs in the eighth. Turner managed to rush back in time with a slide, but he jammed the finger. He had the finger taped up and stayed in the game. He was left stranded on base.
This isn’t the first time Turner has encountered finger injuries in his career. He played through a broken right index finger in 2019 and another fractured finger last season. He said he will wear mitts on both hands on the bases if he plays Saturday; he normally only wears a mitt on his left hand.
Dodgers vs. Padres highlights in Game 3 of the NLDS
“Quick turnaround because we’re playing tomorrow, which is fine,” Turner said. “But, yeah, have played through a lot in my career. Just another challenge.”
Turner jumped out to a good start in the postseason, clubbing home runs in two of his first six plate appearances but he’s since scuffled. He’s made two errors on defense, one in each of the last two games, and made another poor defensive play in Game 2 that was ruled a fielder’s choice. He struck out twice on Friday, including once in the third inning with two runners on base and one out.
If Turner doesn’t play Saturday, the Dodgers have Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor as options to play shortstop. Neither has started a game at shortstop this season. Hanser Alberto, who isn’t on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster, is the only player besides Turner to have started a game there. Alberto started two.
Lux, a shortstop through the minor leagues, has played 31 innings at shortstop in 2022. Taylor has logged just one inning there.
Dodgers on the edge of elimination after Game 3 loss to Padres
SAN DIEGO — On the night of the franchise’s first home playoff game in front of a crowd in 16 years, San Diego Padres fans were treated to another sight that felt almost as rare.
In a 2-1 win in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Friday, the Padres conquered the Dodgers in a way they’ve seldom done in recent years, quieting the majors’ best regular-season offense again to take a two games to one series lead and put the Dodgers’ 2022 campaign on the brink.
If the Dodgers’ Game 2 defeat was a warning sign, their performance at a sold-out and amped-up Petco Park was a flashing red alarm.
Their pitching plan was tenuous, requiring five relievers from the bullpen following Tony Gonsolin’s ineffective start.
Dodgers lose 2-1, face elimination in Game 4 on Saturday
SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers’ offense went down in order in the ninth inning against Josh Hader, sealing a 2-1 loss that leaves them on the brink of elimination.
The story, as it was in Game 2, was about the Dodgers wasting scoring opportunities. Los Angeles went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base. They’re 0 for their last 19 with runners in scoring position overall.
The only Dodger with multiple hits was Austin Barnes, who was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. They scored their only run on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
On the other side, the Padres’ bullpen has thrown 16 consecutive scoreless innings. A win Saturday and San Diego will reach the NLCS for the first time since 1998.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1 — Final
Dodgers down to three outs against Josh Hader
SAN DIEGO — Tommy Kahnle pitched a clean eighth inning. It’s now on the Dodgers’ offense to figure out a way to score at least one run against Padres closer Josh Hader to avoid a loss.
The Padres’ bullpen, considered a weakness before the postseason, has logged 15 consecutive scoreless innings. One more and the Dodgers will be on the brink of elimination.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1 — After eight innings
Trea Turner hurts finger sliding into first base
SAN DIEGO — Trea Turner led off the eighth inning with an infield single against the hard-throwing Robert Suarez, injecting the Dodgers with some life. A scare and more disappointment soon followed.
Turner, of course, is a threat to steal bases. Suarez acted accordingly, throwing over to first base with Freddie Freeman at the plate. Suarez caught Turner leaning the wrong way, but Turner slid in headfirst safely. A replay review confirmed the call.
More importantly, however, Turner appeared to have hurt a finger on his right hand on his slide. The shortstop eventually went to the dugout to have the finger taped up but didn’t leave the game. Will Smith then popped out and Max Muncy struck out on three pitches to leave the Dodgers without a run again.
Their offense now has three outs to work with to avoid facing a 2-1 series deficit.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1 — Middle of the eighth inning
Dave Roberts takes a risk in the seventh inning
SAN DIEGO — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took quite the risk in the seventh inning by electing to have Gavin Lux pinch-hit for Austin Barnes. The decision means designated hitter Will Smith will move to catcher and leave the Dodgers without a DH for the remainder of the game.
The early return on the strategy wasn’t good: Lux struck out looking at a borderline pitch from Luis Garcia before Mookie Betts lined out to end the inning.
Cody Bellinger, Joey Gallo, and Miguel Vargas are the Dodgers’ remaining available position players. Roberts will choose one to hit in the pitcher’s spot if it comes around.
The decision could haunt the Dodgers if the games goes to extra innings, but they need to get there first and Roberts chose to boost those chances.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1 — Middle of the seventh inning
Evan Phillips comes through in big spot for Dodgers
SAN DIEGO — Evan Phillips, the Dodgers’ preferred fireman out of the bullpen, was asked to put out the biggest fire of the Dodgers’ season thus far and did the job.
The right-hander, who replaced Alex Vesia, was tasked to face Manny Machado with two outs and runners on the corners in the sixth inning. One mistake the Dodgers could’ve been facing a four-run lead. Instead, Phillips struck out Machado looking at a 96-mph fastball, keeping the Dodgers in the game.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1 — After six innings
Dodgers are now 0 for their last 19 with runners in scoring position
SAN DIEGO — Max Muncy clobbered a one-out double in the sixth inning to chase Blake Snell, and give the Dodgers another runner in scoring position. And again they didn’t record a hit.
Nick Martinez struck out Justin Turner and got Chris Taylor to hit a soft tapper back to him to end the inning. The Dodgers are now 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and 0 for their last 19 going back to Game 2. It’s a perplexing funk that is threatening to ruin their season.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1 — Middle of the sixth inning
Dodgers finally didn’t squander a scoring opportunity
SAN DIEGO — We figured it would happen eventually, and it did: The Dodgers capitalized on a scoring opportunity.
The breakthrough began when Trayce Thompson splashed a bloop single to right field where Juan Soto was inexplicably playing deep against the right-handed hitter. Austin Barnes then continued terrorizing Blake Snell — remember the 2020 World Series? — with a scorched double for his second hit of the night.
That brought up Mookie Betts with two runners in scoring position and no outs. He promptly lifted a fly ball to the warning track in right field. Thompson easily scored to put the Dodgers on the board.
But a flood didn’t follow. Trea Turner popped out and Freddie Freeman grounded out to end the inning. So, the Dodgers remain hitless (0 for 7) with runners in scoring position. There’s a chance Snell’s night is over — he’s thrown 87 pitches — with Will Smith due to lead off the sixth inning.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1 — Middle of the fifth inning
Trent Grisham’s hot postseason continues
SAN DIEGO — Both of these teams’ everyday center fielders — Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham — were among the worst hitters in the majors this season. Both teams stuck with them for different reasons, mostly because both are elite defenders. But their roads have diverged in the playoffs.
While Bellinger’s offense struggles continued in the first two games, prompting the Dodgers to bench him against left-hander Blake Snell in Game 3, Grisham is enjoying a breakout postseason. He continued his torrid stretch Friday with a first-pitch home run to lead off the fourth inning against Andrew Heaney.
The Padres then put two runners on base, but Heaney managed to wiggle out of the jam without surrendering another run after nearly giving up a two-run home run to Juan Soto.
Grisham is now 7 for 16 (.438) with three home runs and 1.571 OPS in the Padres’ six playoff games. It’s a significant unexpected reversal after his .184 batting average during the regular season ranked last in the majors among 130 qualifiers.
Bellinger, meanwhile, went 1 for 6 in the first two games, and was replaced by pinch-hitter Austin Barnes in the eighth inning in Game 2.
Padres 2, Dodgers 0 — After four innings
Andrew Heaney is doing his job so far
SAN DIEGO — Andrew Heaney hasn’t been dealt an easy hand tonight, but he’s keeping the Dodgers in the game.
First, he escaped a jam created by Tony Gonsolin in the second inning after entering with two on and one out. Then, in the third inning, he got Wil Myers and Ha-Seong Kim to strike out with two on after Trea Turner dropped a pop up in shallow left field.
As a result, the Dodgers are somehow down just 1-0 through three innings.
Padres 1, Dodgers 0 — After three innings
Another inning, another wasted chance for the Dodgers
SAN DIEGO — You would think that the Dodgers will eventually figure out a way to capitalize on a prime scoring opportunity after going scoreless over the final six innings in Game 2. The odds are in their favor. But it still hasn’t happened.
The Dodgers wasted another chance in the third inning here in Game 3. Trayce Thompson led the inning off with a walk against Blake Snell. Austin Barnes followed with a single. They were threatening to break through.
Then Mookie Betts hit a 99-mph lineout to third baseman Manny Machado and Trea Turner struck out looking at a 3-2 fastball. Freddie Freeman extended the inning with a walk as Snell’s pitch count soared above 50, but Will Smith popped out to end the threat.
The Dodgers are now 3 for 21 with runners in scoring position in this series — and 0 for their last 15. After leaving 10 runners on base in Game 2, they’ve left four on base and are 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position through three innings. Chances are they’ll break out of this funk eventually but they haven’t yet and it’s a problem. Eventually, the chances dry up.
Padres 1, Dodgers 0 — Middle of the third inning
Tony Gonsolin lasted just nine batters and four outs
SAN DIEGO — Well, that wasn’t good for the Dodgers.
Tony Gonsolin was never going to pitch deep into this game — his ceiling was 75 pitches — but he was pulled in the second inning. He threw 42 pitches, faced nine batters and recorded just four outs.
It could’ve been worse. The Padres stranded two runners and mustered just one run in Gonsolin’s 31-pitch first inning. But it’s still bad for the Dodgers. They now need the bullpen to cover at least 20 outs — and 23 for a win.
Padres 1, Dodgers 0 — After two innings
Padres strike first and Tony Gonsolin’s night might be a very short one
SAN DIEGO — Tony Gonsolin was one pitch away from escaping an ugly first inning unscathed. It didn’t happen.
With runners on first and second, Jake Cronenworth laced a 3-2 splitter to center field for an RBI single to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. The hit came on Gonsolin’s 27th pitch, an inflated total resulting from a lack of command early, and pushed the Dodgers to have Andrew Heaney begin warming up in the bullpen.
Gonsolin recovered to strike out Wil Myers to end the inning, but the slow start is a problem. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Gonsolin wouldn’t throw more than 75 pitches. He’s already up to 31 after one inning. The right-hander appears on his way to a much earlier exit, which would place pressure on the bullpen to take down more outs than anticipated.
Padres 1, Dodgers 0 — After one inning
Dodgers waste scoring chance to start Game 3
SAN DIEGO — One of the questions heading into Game 3 was whether Mookie Betts could get going for the Dodgers after going 1 for 8 to begin the series.
The good news for them is he led the game off with a sharp single up the middle against Blake Snell. The bad news is he was left stranded at second base after Snell struck out Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith in a row to avoid damage.
The Dodgers left nine runners on base in Game 2. They failed to capitalized on scoring opportunities in each of the final four innings as they failed to solve the Padres’ bullpen for the second straight game. The first inning Friday was more of the same.
Dodgers 0, Padres 0 — Middle of the first inning
Padres fans really want the Padres to ‘Beat LA’
SAN DIEGO — The “Beat LA” chants are out in full force at Petco Park.
They’ve surfaced sporadically on the concourses, in the stands, and everywhere in between.They emerged during pregame introductions and after them, too. This place is loud.
Are Dodgers batters already choking? Lack of offense against Padres suggests as much
SAN DIEGO — In the aftermath of a Game 2 victory over the Dodgers that leveled the National League Division Series, San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish complimented his former team’s offense.
Darvish mentioned how the Dodgers extended at-bats by fouling off pitch after pitch. He marveled at the restraint to not swing at pitches they couldn’t drive.
He said in Japanese, “They played typical Dodgers baseball.”
Darvish diplomatically neglected to mention another traditional element of Dodgers baseball that transformed the series.
Their hitters choked.
Dodgers, Padres have TV cameras removed from dugouts after protest
SAN DIEGO — When the Dodgers and Padres arrived at Petco Park on Friday, they found television cameras in their dugouts and they weren’t happy.
The camera in the Padres’ dugout was on the far end down the first base line. The camera on the Dodgers’ side was stationed in a more intrusive spot: Right by the entrance where it would’ve blocked the view from the bench. Further, the visitors’ dugout is notably smaller than the home team’s. Both clubs weren’t pleased.
Manny Machado was among the Padres to complain pregame. Justin Turner, pitching coach Mark Prior and manager Dave Roberts were among the angry Dodgers on the field. The protests were enough to have the cameras removed and placed in the photographer wells next to the dugouts — where they usually are placed for games.
The cameras were initially placed in the dugouts because officials didn’t want to block fans’ views, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. It’s something they did for the All-Star Game at Petco Park in 2016. The problem, one Dodger noted, is that the players’ and coaches’ views are more important for a playoff game — the first in San Diego with fans since 2006.
Anyway, #cameragate was resolved. Some photographers will be inconvenienced but they’ll figure it out.
Tired of ‘Let’s Go Dodgers’ at Petco? Bring it, San Diego
SAN DIEGO — You say you want a rivalry? Bring it, San Diego.
Bring it Friday, when you can watch your Padres play a postseason game at Petco Park for the first time in 16 years. Bring it Friday, because your Padres deserve to play a home game in front of a home crowd.
You cannot unilaterally declare a rivalry. It is not a rivalry when the visiting team is serenaded by chants of “Let’s Go Dodgers” — long chants, loud chants — in the home ballpark.
The last time you could see the Padres play a postseason game at home, your leadoff hitter was Dave Roberts. He played for your team. He coached for your team. He lives in your county.
“The little brother narrative is real,” Roberts said.
Rally geese apparently are a thing in San Diego
The Padres are immortalizing the goose that landed on the field at Dodger Stadium in Game 2.
Two fake geese showed up for Game 3 at Petco Park. One was placed behind the batting cage as the Padres took batting practice. Eventually, both geese were placed in the dugout, beak to beak.
The almost duck-like decoys don’t really look like the goose that stole the show in Los Angeles, but it’s clear the Padres see that eighth-inning visit from their new-fowl friend as a potential good-luck charm.
Dodgers fans might see it another way — the Padres didn’t score again after the goose got loose in Chavez Ravine. But then again, Josh Hader’s ninth-inning performance was pretty good.
Dodgers rookie Miguel Vargas soaks up first postseason ride
Since he showed up in the major leagues full time a month ago, Miguel Vargas’ pregame work has largely stayed the same.
The Dodgers rookie will be among the first players on the field, his long curly hair flopping around through a series of fielding drills at all four infield positions, then work out across the outfield.
He’ll converse with base coaches Dino Ebel and Clayton McCullough, and alternate reps with veteran teammates such as Trayce Thompson, Mookie Betts and Hanser Alberto.
Then, as first pitch nears, he’ll be one of the last to take batting practice, unleashing towering drives with a tantalizing right-handed swing that has made him one of the more highly touted prospects in the game.
Every day, the routine bears another lesson, another tip, another part of big-league life that Vargas hadn’t before considered.
Walker Buehler to make his temporary broadcasting debut during NLDS
This is a temporary job. Walker Buehler will make his debut as a network television analyst Friday, but he does not plan to visit the wardrobe department first.
“No,” he said. “I had somebody send my suits from home. I’ve got two suits.”
He’s got two days in the Fox studio in Los Angeles, starting with pregame analysis Friday before the National League Division Series broadcasts on FS1: the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies at 1:30 p.m., followed by Buehler’s Dodgers against the San Diego Padres at 5:30 p.m.
Dodgers must find ways to generate runs off the Padres’ bullpen — and fast
The 111-win Dodgers and 89-win San Diego Padres were separated by 22 games in the National League West standings, a Grand Canyon-sized gap that included the Dodgers’ 14-5 domination in their season series.
On Wednesday they stood even at one victory each in what’s now a best-of-three NL Division Series, with Games 3 and 4 scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Petco Park. After marauding through the season, the Dodgers are about to face serious pressure for the first time in a while, and who knows how they’ll react.
That franchise record they set for wins in a season? The flashy offensive numbers they put up? Their major league-leading 48 comeback wins? None of that meant anything Wednesday after they left 10 runners on base (including seven in the last four innings) and went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in a 5-3 loss to the poised Padres at Dodger Stadium.
What might have been a romp for the Dodgers has turned into a tightrope walk. Without a safety net. In high winds.
Dodgers change up lineup for Game 3 vs. Blake Snell
SAN DIEGO — As expected, the Dodgers will have a different lineup for Game 3 against Blake Snell and the Padres on Friday.
The Dodgers fielded the same lineup in the first two games. It featured Cody Bellinger in center field and Gavin Lux at second base. Both left-handed hitters will begin Friday on the bench to avoid unfavorable matchups against the left-handed Snell.
Austin Barnes will start at catcher for the first time in the postseason, moving Will Smith to designated hitter, after flying out in a pinch-hit at-bat in Game 2. Chris Taylor will make his first appearance since Sept. 30 after dealing with a stiff neck. He’ll start in left field.
Trayce Thompson, the Dodgers’ left fielder in the first two games, will play center field. Max Muncy will start at second base after playing third base in Games 1 and 2. Justin Turner will play third base for the first time in the playoffs.
The top six in the batting order will remain the same. The group produced early runs in both games thus far, but the Dodgers have been shut down over the final six innings both times. Mookie Betts, in particular, is off to a rough start; he’s 1 for 8 with a walk and two strikeouts.
The offense will look to give Tony Gonsolin some cushion. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the right-hander will be limited to 75 pitches after making just one start off the injured list late in the regular season, effectively making it a bullpen game for Los Angeles. Roberts said Andrew Heaney and Dustin May will be available out of the bullpen to log multiple innings if needed.
The Dodgers could’ve had Tyler Anderson start. Anderson is stretched out for a conventional starter’s workload, but the team decided to rely on its bullpen more in Game 3 coming off an off day. The thinking is that the relief corps would be fresher for Game 3 and Anderson could give the group a breather ahead of a potential Game 5 on Sunday, which would be the teams’ third game in three days.
The Dodgers have notable history against Snell in the postseason. Two years ago, pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays, Snell was dominating them in Game 6 of the World Series when he was infamously pulled with one out in the sixth inning after just 73 pitches. The Rays were leading 1-0. They lost 3-1, giving the Dodgers their first championship in 32 years.
That winter, Snell was traded to San Diego where he’s faced the Dodgers eight times over the last two seasons. The left-hander owns a 2.54 career earned-run average in 11 career outings, including two in the 2020 World Series, against Los Angeles.
The only change in the Padres’ Game 3 lineup from Game 2 is Josh Bell, not Brandon Drury, will be their designated hitter and bat fourth.
Dodgers at some point must figure out what to do with Cody Bellinger
The question was the same on the first day of the regular season as it was after Game 2 of the National League Division Series: What are the Dodgers going to do about Cody Bellinger?
Now that their glorious season could come to an abrupt end this weekend, the Dodgers have a different answer.
When the Dodgers take the field for Game 3 Friday, with the series now a best-of-three, the onetime most valuable player will be on the bench, manager Dave Roberts said.
In the pre-analytics era, the label “good field, no hit” was a compliment. Not so much now. However, as the 2022 season dawned, the Dodgers believed so strongly in Bellinger’s glove that they played him every day on a team that expects to win the World Series.
What happened to the goose that stole all the attention during NLDS Game 2?
Roughly 47,000 fans at Dodger Stadium hardly noticed at first when a goose made a rough landing in shallow right field during the eighth inning of Wednesday’s NL Division Series game between the Dodgers and Padres.
But then camera operators spotted the bird and blasted its image onto the stadium’s giant screen, drawing hoots, laughter and cheers from the crowd.
Fox Sports TV broadcasts zoomed in on the disoriented goose, its head swiveling side to side as it sat in the outfield, as one play-by-play announcer commented, “Ducks are very aggressive. I don’t know if you know that. They’re very aggressive.”
Tony Gonsolin will lead a ‘collection of arms’ for Dodgers in Game 3 vs. Padres
SAN DIEGO — Entering this week’s National League Division Series, the Dodgers knew they’d have to stomach one game with an imperfect pitching plan, that Tony Gonsolin’s reduced workload following a late-season forearm strain would force them to resort to one de facto bullpen game.
With the series tied 1-1 and shifting south to Petco Park this weekend, the Dodgers decided Friday was the time to get it out of the way.
Gonsolin will start a pivotal Game 3 in the best-of-five series, manager Dave Roberts announced Wednesday night and confirmed during a video call with reporters Thursday, but exactly how long he will go, and how the rest of the staff will line up behind him, remains unclear.
“I see it as a collection of arms,” Roberts said. “Obviously less is more, but if we have to use six arms tomorrow, we’ll do that.”
The move is something of a gamble for the Dodgers, who will save left-handed All-Star Tyler Anderson for a start in Game 4 on Saturday.
Betting odds and lines for Game 3 of the NLDS
Here are the latest betting lines and odds for Game 3 of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Friday:
How to watch Dodgers vs. Padres in the NLDS
Here’s how to watch and stream the Dodgers vs. the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series this weekend. First pitch for Game 3 is scheduled for 5:37 p.m. PDT.