Machado robbed, offense sputters, Padres lose to Dodgers 5-2
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Petco Park- San Diego, California
It was a scheduled bullpen day for the San Diego Padres. Tuesday marked the first game in the post-Larry Rothschild era, who was relieved of his duties as pitching coach on Monday. Pierce Johnson got the nod as the opener, making his first career start in the big leagues.
Johnson cruised through the first inning with a 1-2-3 frame. He ran into a bump in the road in the second as Will Smith led off with a solo shot, giving the Dodgers an early lead. After a walk, he was promptly relieved.
Julio Urias countered for the Dodgers and stifled the Padres. Manny Machado gave him a scare as he launched a towering fly ball into left field that should have been a home run. However, AJ Pollock brought it back and robbed Machado, killing the rally and keeping San Diego off the scoreboard. Urias dominated in five innings, striking out four and allowing just one hit.
The Padres bullpen continued its solid group effort, allowing just that lone run through six innings with a combination of Johnson, Austin Adams, Emilio Pagan (two stellar innings), and Nabil Crismatt.
“I thought they (the relievers) were great. The first inning was really good. That was the sharpest I have seen (Pagan) in two years,” Tingler said following the game.
The Friars put together a potential rally in the fifth, putting runners on first and second with one out. However, Urias retired Ha-Seong Kim and Adam Frazier to stymy the rally.
Daniel Camarena pitched a solid sixth but ran into trouble in the seventh. Manny Machado temporarily saves two runs with a fantastic diving stop with runners on second and third. He came up limp with what looked like a sore shoulder, but he remained in the game.
The Dodgers finally broke through with two more runs on a bases-loaded, two-run single off of Daniel Hudson by Pollock, who played the role of the main villain in this contest.
Alex Vesia ran right through the Padres in the seventh with a breezy 1-2-3 frame.
Reiss Knehr entered the game in the top of the eighth and surrendered a double to Trea Turner, who came around to score on a Justin Turner sacrifice fly. Max Muncy reached third with one out before Corey Seager flew out to center. Fernando Tatis Jr. fired it back into the infield from center field. It was cut off by Jurickson Profar, who threw out Will Smith at third, but not before Muncy scored L.A.’s fifth run of the game.
Speaking of Profar, just when the Padres looked like they were going to roll over, he lined a two-run home run into the right-field porch, breathing a little life into Petco Park, which had been as lively as a funeral for most of the night.
Jurickson Profar gets the @Padres on the board with this 2-run blast 💥@JURICKSONPROFAR | #HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/4Y1daj0ueN
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) August 25, 2021
The bottom of the eighth seemed like the last gasp. Tatis reached on a walk and stole second for his 24th stolen base of the year. Machado worked a walk to bring the tying run to the plate in Jake Cronenworth, who struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kenley Jansen entered the game in the bottom of the ninth and worked around a mini two-out rally for his 28th save of the season. The offense failed to take advantage of a strong day by the Padres pitching staff to begin the game.
The Padres drop to 68-59, squandering a chance to tie the Reds for the second Wild Card spot, who lost to the Brewers earlier in the day. San Diego turns to Blake Snell on Wednesday to right the ship and stop the bleeding.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.