Alex Vesia sustains apparent injury before start of eighth inning
⚾ Dodgers 2, Padres 0 — Eighth inning
Top of the eighth: Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia sustained an apparent injury while warming up before the start of the eighth inning. After throwing a pitch, he called for the training staff to come to the mound before walking off the field and into the clubhouse.
Michael Kopech took over on the mound. Xander Bogaerts lined out, David Peralta popped out and Jake Cronenworth struck out to make it 23 consecutive scoreless innings for the Dodgers’ pitching staff. The Dodgers have retired 16 straight San Diego batters.
Bottom of the eighth: Gavin Lux and Tommy Edman grounded out. Scott Tan then replaced Jason Adam on the mound for the Padres.
Dodgers double their lead on a Teoscar Hernández home run
⚾ Dodgers 2, Padres 0 — End of the seventh inning
Top of the seventh: Evan Phillips struck out Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado to the roaring approval of the Dodger Stadium crowd. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts then turned to reliever Alex Vesia, who struck out Padres rookie Jackson Merrill to make it 22 straight scoreless innings for Dodgers pitchers.
Bottom of the seventh: Freddie Freeman lined out to second. Teoscar Hernández followed with a 420-foot solo home run to left field off Yu Darvish, doubling the Dodgers’ lead.
After Max Muncy flied out to right field, Padres reliever Jason Adam took over for Darvish. Will Smith singled to left off and then stole second base before Kiké Hernández grounded out to end the inning.
Darvish gave up two home runs on three hits and struck out four and walked one over 6 2/3 innings.
Dodgers cling to 1-0 lead heading into seventh inning
⚾ Dodgers 1, Padres 0 — Sixth inning
Top of the sixth: Facing Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips, Kyle Higashioka struck out, Luis Arraez grounded out and Fernando Tatis Jr. lined out.
Bottom of the sixth: Tommy Edman flied out before Yu Darvish struck out Shohei Ohtani for the second time tonight. Mookie Betts grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gives the Dodgers five shutout innings
⚾ Dodgers 1, Padres 0 — End of the fifth inning
Top of the fifth: Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out Xander Bogaerts. David Peralta flied out in shallow right before Jake Cronenworth grounded out to third. Yamamoto has given up two hits, struck out two and walked one over 63 pitches.
Evan Phillips will relieve Yamamoto in the sixth inning as the Padres look to break their 20-inning scoreless drought.
Bottom of the fifth: Will Smith flied out to center field, Kiké Hernández struck out and Gavin Lux grounded out. Padres starter Yu Darvish has given up two hits and one run, with three strikeouts and a walk.
Dodgers hold 1-0 lead heading into the fifth inning
⚾ Dodgers 1, Padres 0 — End of the fourth inning
Top of the fourth: Yoshinobu Yamamoto retired the Padres in order in what has so far been a very solid start for the Dodgers pitcher. Yamamoto has thrown 47 pitches so far.
Bottom of the fourth: Freddie Freeman flied out into the left-field corner. Padres pitcher Yu Darvish struck out Teoscar Hernández before Max Muncy softly lined out to second.
Double play helps out Dodgers in the third inning
⚾ Dodgers 1, Padres 0 — End of the third inning
Top of the third: Jake Cronenworth flied out to center before Kyle Higashioka and Luis Arraez reached base on back-to-back singles off Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the frame.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Ken Rosenthal on the Fox game broadcast that he’s looking for Yamamoto to give him four inning and then will go from there.
Bottom of the third: Yu Darvish and the Padres retire the Dodgers in order.
Kiké Hernández hits solo home run to give Dodgers 1-0 lead
⚾ Dodgers 1, Padres 0 — End of the second inning
Top of the second: San Diego’s Manny Machado flied out to Mookie Betts at the warning track in right field. Rookie Jackson Merrill grounded out to second base. Xander Bogaerts drew a walk before David Peralta grounded out to second to cap the frame.
Bottom of the second: Max Muncy drew a leadoff walk from Yu Darvish before Will Smith grounded out into a 5-4-3 double play. Kiké Hernández hit a first-pitch solo home run to left field with two outs to give the Dodgers an early lead. Gavin Lux grounded out to end the inning.
Dodgers and Padres scoreless heading into the second inning
⚾ Padres 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the first inning
Top of the first: Luis Arraez grounded out to first before Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. Jurickson Profar grounded out for a 1-2-3 inning.
Bottom of the first: Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish struck out Dodgers star and Japanese countryman Shohei Ohtani. Mookie Betts grounded out before Freddie Freeman singled into right field. Freeman, who is dealing with a sprained right ankle, was visibly grimacing as he ran to first base.
Teoscar Hernández popped out to first to end the inning.
Miguel Rojas’ profane social media rant was a mea culpa while defending Dodgers teammates
Miguel Rojas is more than a veteran shortstop whose elevated play at age 35 was key to the Dodgers posting the best record in baseball this season. He is a recognized clubhouse leader routinely referred to as a manager in waiting, a player who like former Dodgers Dave Roberts and Alex Cora could develop into a respected skipper perched on the top step of the dugout.
That’s why his emotional, profane response to a fan’s Instagram post that criticized him as a reason the Dodgers lost Game 3 of the National League Division Series to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park was notable.
Rojas’ response, which has since been deleted, pointed out that he and his teammates are trying their hardest to win. He went on to acknowledge that his poor decision in the second inning could have cost the Dodgers the game. Rojas’ liberal sprinkling of profanity might have obscured the fact that he, essentially, was taking responsibility and standing up for his teammates.
Dodgers want fans fired up for Game 5. ‘Bring the energy, but be smart about it’
SAN DIEGO — The last time a baseball game was played at Dodger Stadium, the evening descended into madness.
Players chirping at one another, fine. Fans cheering their team’s players and jeering the other team’s players, fine. Fans tossing baseballs and beverages at opposing players on the field, not fine.
On Friday, the playoffs return to Dodger Stadium, with the season on the line for the Dodgers and the visiting San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers would like to remind you that the last thing they need is for their own fans, even a handful of them, to engage in behavior so stupid that it stirs up the Padres, or worse, endangers someone.
Dodger up! Desperate Dodgers dump Padres and return to L.A. for Game 5 of NLDS
SAN DIEGO — The opening statement came two batters into the game, Mookie Betts hitting a ball to Chula Vista, the stunned stadium enveloping him in the sweetest of silence.
The follow-up statement came soon thereafter, Shohei Ohtani driving a ball down the right-field line at about 1,000 mph, the silence turning to shock.
The closing argument appeared shortly after that, Will Smith blasting another weak pitch over the center-field fence, one dugout dancing, the other one sulking — game over.
Three innings, one message, powerfully delivered Wednesday from the Dodgers to the suddenly harried and humbled San Diego Padres:
This is not 2022. This is not happening again. This is not going to be easy. This is going the distance.
Dodgers show no panic and dominate Padres to force a decisive NLDS Game 5
SAN DIEGO — In the hours before Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Petco Park on Wednesday night, there was a quiet but palpable belief around the Dodgers dugout, one that belied the seemingly dire state in which they found themselves.
Sure, the team was facing a third straight elimination in the NLDS, down two games to one to the San Diego Padres.
And no, the Dodgers were not at full strength, playing without injured veterans Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas while opting for a bullpen game from their banged-up pitching staff.
Freddie Freeman in starting lineup, Miguel Rojas is out again
The Dodgers lineup for Game 5 of the NLDS looked exactly how Dave Roberts hinted it would during Thursday’s off day.
Freddie Freeman is indeed starting at first base, returning to the lineup after missing Game 4 (and twice being removed early from games earlier in the series) with his sprained right ankle.
Miguel Rojas was, as expected, out of the lineup after re-aggravating an adductor injury in Game 3.
And, with Tommy Edman shifting to shortstop to replace Rojas, Kiké Hernández was in at center field for his second straight start, coming off a two-hit performance in Game 4.
Roberts said Freeman still has to go through his pregame work before he gets a final green light to start tonight “Right now he’s in there. I feel good about him in there,” Roberts said. “If he doesn’t go, then we’ll adjust.”
Here’s the full lineup, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting the start:
Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start winner-take-all NLDS Game 5 for Dodgers
Exactly 25 hours before the biggest game of his team’s season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was sure of only one thing about his pitching plans for Game 5 in the National League Division Series on Friday night.
“I’m sure Yoshinobu will be a part of it,” Roberts said Thursday, referring to $325-million offseason signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, his Game 1 starter.
Later the Dodgers announced Yamamoto will start Friday’s winner-take-all showdown with the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, clearing up one part of a pitching plan that could determine the fate of L.A.’s 98-win season.
“Overall, kind of where Yoshinobu is at, I feel really comfortable,” Roberts said earlier in the day.
Dodgers vs. Padres: Ready for a Shohei Ohtani-Yu Darvish duel in Game 5?
On the TV screens inside the Dodgers’ home clubhouse Thursday, two slides clicked back and forth.
The first showed the team’s schedule for an off-day workout, on the eve of a decisive Game 5 in the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres.
The other displayed a three-word quote for the team to take into Friday’s winner-take-all contest:
“Job’s not finished”
Indeed, that was the Dodgers’ mindset coming off a season-saving Game 4 win in San Diego on Wednesday, one that staved off a third straight NLDS elimination and set up Friday’s showdown at Dodger Stadium.
“The moment is important,” manager Dave Roberts said.
“Yesterday was definitely a team win,” star slugger Shohei Ohtani added, through interpreter Will Ireton. “So we’re going to have the same kind of attitude going into the game tomorrow.”
Dodgers vs. Padres: How to watch and betting odds for Game 5
The Dodgers continue the postseason Friday when they face the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 5:08 p.m. PDT and will air on Fox and Fox Deportes. Radio broadcasts of the game will be on 570 AM and 1020 AM (Español) in the Los Angeles area.
Here’s a look at the betting odds for Game 5:
