PADRES-DODGERS SERIES OPENS TODAY
He got playoff legacy started with two big blasts against the Cards
The Padres’ postseason continues today at 6:35 p.m. with the start of the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Dodgers at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. It will be the first time the rivals have ever met in the playoffs.
A R L I N G T O N, Tex a s
The National League MVP award was practically being engraved with his name when Fernando Tatis Jr. had a September to forget.
So he did.
There was more baseball to be played, and sometimes the best tool even a five-tool player can have is a short memory.
Besides, October is when legacies are made.
“Real players make real history in the postseason,” Tatis said Monday. “So definitely, it’s huge to me.”
The Padres’ postseason continues tonight with the start of the National League Division Series against the Dodgers.
A legend can grow at any time, especially in these times, almost without regard to importance.
The level beyond legend is legacy, which requires impact. A legacy is made of substance.
Tatis is already legendary. But it’s 2020, so that’s not really what it used to be.
His brand of cool is made for social media and a world in perpetual need of instant thrill. Those dyed-blond locks, that smile, those moves. That talent. His penchant for the big hit and the big celebration.
He really mankind.
Certainly, there is value in being outstanding in the regular season.
Tatis’ 17 home runs were second most in the National League. Tatis led the Padres with 49 runs created. He led the major leagues with seven outs above average. His energy and penchant for fun keeps veterans young and was high on the list of things that charged the Padres’ resilience this
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tonight at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, a rivalry on the rise will step out of the national shadows.
“There was some intensity in those games,” Dodgers’ Game 1 starter Walker Buehler said.
Understatement notwithstanding, Buehler scratched the surface of what anyone with eyes and ears already knew. The temperature of the season series spiked on Sept. 14 when the Padres trailed 1-0 in the sixth against mainstay Clayton Kershaw at Petco Park. Grisham brought his team to life with a tying homer, whipping his bat and staring down his dugout before beginning his trot.
The Dodgers barked at Grisham as he rounded third base. He barked back. Manager Dave Roberts pointed to a perceived lack of respect for an accomplished veteran, saying: “I don’t mind guys admiring a homer. Certainly, it’s a big game, a big hit. I just felt that to overstay at home plate, certainly against a guy like Clayton. … I just took exception to that.”
Padres fans fumed at the oldschool grumbling as their team continues to push boundaries and reshape thoughts about the modern game.
Superstar outfielder Mookie Betts said the loss stung like a right cross. The Dodgers responded with blows of their own, winning the final two games in the series to all but secure their eighth consecutive NL West crown.
“We’re not going to just keep getting punched in the mouth,” Betts said. “We can come back at you. Obviously, this is a new series so we have to come out with some energy, ready to go, because you know they will.”
The meaningfulness of one moment in one game in one series?
“I think if you are looking for a turning point, that was probably one of them,” Roberts said. “We’ve continued to play good baseball since.”
The real meat filling the rivalry sandwich is that it is freshly competitive. The season series was tied at four until the Dodgers scooped up the final two. Five were decided by one run. Two others, by two runs.
Plays at the plate. Bat f lips. Grousing and griping. The oxygen a rivalry demands.
“What this game deserves, wants, needs is a little bit of passion, a little bit of energy,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. “I’d definitely say with the Dodgers and ourselves, but you look around baseball, it’s Oakland and Houston, Atlanta and Miami, YankeesRays, that’s well-documented. I think it’s great for the game.
“… You’ve got men playing the game and competing hard, emotions are high, things are at stake.”
One reason the Dodgers surely are annoyed with the Padres is that they can’t simply be dismissed, as in so many seasons past. They’ve grown into a legitimate threat, far more than a speed bump on the leisurely Sunday drive to NL West titles.
The possibility of the Padres adding to the Dodgers’ hyperscrutinized chase of a World Series title that dates to the year 32-yearold Kershaw was born, would burn like hot sauce under an eyelid. The well-worn narrative says the Dodgers dominate in the regular season, but wilt at the finish line.
The Padres’ pitching merry-goround could unravel, especially when facing the best, winningest offense in baseball during a fivegame series without any off days to breathe. That only increases expectations shouldered by the Dodgers since they clearly hold the upper hand with Buehler, Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and others healthy and rested.
As of Monday afternoon, the status of Padres starters Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet remained as securely guarded as the entrance to Fort Knox. Against the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Series, starters Chris Paddack and normally reliable Zach Davies failed to reach the fourth inning. Bullpen use in the series became historic.
The Dodgers hope the format will grind on the Padres.
“After getting three days off, playing five in a row, I just think the format lends itself to your entire roster,” Roberts said. “As a team and an organization that believes in depth, you’re going to have to use all 28 guys.”
The rivals bash baseballs just 123 miles apart, yet have not met in the postseason.
“This isn’t about revenge or getting somebody back at this point,” Padres right fielder Wil Myers said. “This is all about winning baseball games. For us, how we look at the other side, we don’t really want to look at the jersey, we don’t want to look at the name. This is just another team that we’re going out to play. This is the team that’s in our way.”
That’s the polished public statement, but feelings that bubbled up this season become very tough to f lush. They build up like calluses.
“It’s kind of funny, but we totally keep it professional out there,” Tatis said of sharing the same hotel with the Dodgers as part of coronavirus protocols. “If we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it on the field. That’s what it’s about.”
Tatis drilled closer to the nerve: “I feel like everybody is just putting a little bit more gas in the tank.”
Myers explained the unconventional postseason run-ins.
“Usually you have your mask on, so it’s not always super easy to tell who it is,” he said. “You just say ‘hey’ and keep going. There’s not really much conversation. Both sides feel the same way. We’re here on a mission. We’re here for a job. We’re not here to socialize. … We’re ready to rock and roll.”
With these two teams, that is something everyone can agree on.