Dodgers open NLDS with 5-1 victory over Padres
ARLINGTON, Texas — Justin Turner and the Los Angeles Dodgers had a walk in the new park to start their NL Division Series.
The patient Dodgers had already drawn nine free passes before Mookie Betts got their first hit in the sixth inning, and they went ahead to stay on Corey Seager’s sacrifice fly right after that in a 5-1 win Tuesday night over the NL West rival San Diego Padres.
“We didn’t get a lot of hits early, but we took great at-bats and we made those guys work,” said Turner, who drew two bases on balls. “Our offense is at its best when we’re walking as many times as we’re getting hits.”
Mike Clevinger made it only two pitches into the second inning in his postseason debut for the Padres before leaving hurt, and their heavily worked bullpen couldn’t keep putting up zeros — or keeping runners off base, even though San Diego gave up only four hits.
Game 2 in the best-of-five series at the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark is tonight.
When Chris Taylor, the No. 9 batter in the Los Angeles order, walked with one out in the sixth in a 1-1 game, it was the Dodgers’ ninth walk through 27 batters and the
Padres were already on their sixth pitcher. Betts then doubled into the left-field corner to break up the nohitter, sending Taylor to third and setting up Seager’s sac fly.
“We felt like it was a matter of time,” Cody Bellinger said. “We grinded, and it was a good team win.”
Los Angeles got all four of its hits in the sixth, including RBI singles by Turner and Bellinger. Another run scored on a wild pitch and the Dodgers also got their 10th walk, matching Atlanta in 1997 for the most in a nine-inning NLDS game.
The Dodgers scored an unearned run in the fourth when Bellinger reached on a two-out throwing error by rookie second baseman Jake Croneworth after two walks and a wild pitch earlier in the inning.
Dustin May (1-0) struck out three over two perfect innings in relief of Walker Buehler. Kenley Jansen, the fourth reliever, finished a three-hitter for Los Angeles.
Garrett Richards (0-1), the sixth of nine Padres pitchers, was gone after giving up the hit to Betts. So was manager Jayce Tingler, who was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett when making yet another pitching change.
With injured starters Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet out for the first round, the Padres became the first team to use at least eight pitchers in three consecutive playoff games.
Clevinger had left his last regular-season start Sept. 23 after one inning because of an elbow impingement, but was added to the Padres’ 28-player NLDS roster earlier Tuesday, when he was named the starter for Game 1. The herky-jerky right-hander, acquired from Cleveland in a nine-player trade Aug. 31, walked two and threw a wild pitch in a scoreless first.
After Clevinger went 2-0 on Bellinger to start the second, Tingler and a trainer visited the mound, and the pitcher left after a brief conversation. It was only his second start since a two-hit shutout in a seven-inning complete game Sept. 13.
Clevinger said he first felt tightness when facing Seager in the first inning, and did several things to try to get loose before going out for the second.
“It was like a NASCAR pit stop almost,” Clevinger said. “Just tried to keep it going. It wasn’t there.”
Buehler struck out eight, but the right-hander who has dealt with blisters all year needed a season-high 95 pitches to get through four innings. He walked four and allowed only two singles.
That included Austin Nola’s two-out RBI single in the fourth that drove home Wil Myers, who walked before stealing second base.