Not pretty, but they’ll take it
Starting pitchers for both teams don’t last long in NLDS Game 1 win for the ‘ home team.’
Dodgers score four runs on four hits in sixth inning after getting no hits through the f irst f ive.
DODGERS 5, PADRES 1
ARLINGTON, Texas — The groundball ricocheted off the end of Cody Bellinger’s bat and up the middle, slowly sneaking through the infield before San Diego Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth smothered it with a dive.
But it was too late. Bellinger sprinted through first base to complete a 71.4- mph infield hit as the Dodgers’ f ifth run in their slowmoving 5- 1 win over the Padres in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday. Bellinger turned to his excited dugout and shook his hands, the team’s celebration for when they reach base on a hit they didn’t barrel up.
It wasn’t the kind of hit that will appear on highlight reels, but it was the kind the Dodgers need to win a World Series.
The Dodgers understand the challenge playing the remainder of the postseason at Globe Life Field presents. The ballpark is a cavernous, home run suppressor. According to ESPN’s park factors, it was the most difficult ballpark to hit a homer in for the 60- game regular season. To score runs, the team that hit the most home runs per game in major league history during the season, had treated home runs as bonuses. Relying on them would lead to losses. They needed to put the ball in play and string together hits.
For f ive innings Tuesday, there wasn’t any hit stringing, or any hits at all. Six Padres pitchers, f ive relievers after starter Mike Clevinger’s early exit, had combined to hold them hitless but couldn’t keep them off the board. The Dodgers scored in the fifth inning on an error. Then came the barrage.
It started when Mookie Betts, after Chris Taylor’s one- out walk, lined his fourth double of the postseason down the left- f ield line against Garrett Richards for the Dodgers’ first hit. Corey Seager followed with a sacrifice f ly to give the Dodgers a 2- 1 lead.
Next, Justin Turner f lared a single to right f ield to drive in Betts. Max Muncy doubled and Will Smith was intentionally walked before Bellinger delivered the weakest big hit of his major league career off left- hander Matt Strahm to cap off the Dodgers’ four- run blitz.
The Dodgers f inished the 60game regular season with the best record in the majors. In a normal year, they would’ve enjoyed homef ield advantage throughout the
playoffs at Dodger Stadium. In 2020, they got a three- game wildcard series against the Milwaukee Brewers before they were sent packing.
Major League Baseball tried making them feel at home inside Globe Life Field. The public address announcer introduced the Dodgers as “YOUR” Los Angeles Dodgers and the Padres as the “visiting ” ball club. A prerecorded rendition of the national anthem by Dodger Stadium organist Dieter Ruehle was played. The same graphics used at Dodger Stadium were shown on the two big screens. Fake crowd cheers roared when each member of the Dodgers starting lineup was introduced.
There were, however, fans in the stadium. Families of both teams cheered from down the baselines. The Dodgers’ contingent watched the game from the f irst- base side. The Padres’ family members sat across the field. That side was livelier. Some people waved pompoms. Others made noise with thunder sticks. Several wore matching yellow hoodies and sweatpants.
Both starting pitchers entered with questions hovering.
Walker Buehler was still dealing with a blister on his right index finger that put him on the injured list twice at the end of the regular season. He logged just four innings in his previous two starts, including in Game 1 of the wild- card round.
“There's no script. There's no pitch count,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “It's just more watching him every inning and seeing potentially if an inning gets long just seeing how the finger responds.”
Buehler ended up throwing a season- high 95 pitches in another four- inning outing. He posted eight strikeouts but had a careerhigh four walks and allowed a career- high three steals. The combination proved costly in the fourth inning. After walking the bases loaded and escaping in the third, Buehler walked Wil Myers, who then stole second base. Two batters later, Austin Nola lined an RBI single for the game’s first run.
For the Padres, Clevinger had pitched just one inning since Sept. 13 before Tuesday because of an el
bow impingement. He was left off of San Diego’s wild- card series roster but was ready to start Tuesday. He didn’t last long.
After stranding two runners in a 22- pitch first inning, alarms rang in the Padres dugout when he fell behind 2- 0 against Bellinger to start the second. Clevinger’s second pitch was a 77- mph slider, well below his typical velocity. That prompted manager Jayce Tingler and a trainer out to visit the pitcher. Clevinger then walked off the mound with elbow tightness.
The short outing forced San Diego to pivot to their second straight bullpen game after using nine pitchers in Game 3 of the wildcard series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. They used nine pitchers again Tuesday, tying the NLDS mark for a nine- inning game.
The teams used 14 pitchers total, setting the NLDS record, and played the longest game in this ballpark’s short history. In the end, after 3 hours and 54 minutes, the Dodgers strung together enough hits to move one step closer to a championship.