Petco Park- San Diego

The Padres dropped their final regular-season matchup against the Dodgers, behind two home runs from Freddie Freeman. Both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Nick Pivetta were solid, allowing two runs over six frames each. An early home run from Elias Diaz gave the Padres a lead that lasted the majority of the game, but a seventh-inning meltdown abruptly gave the lead back to Los Angeles. The Padres went quiet as Shohei Ohtani added a home run for the Dodgers to take the 8-2 win.

Nick Pivetta made his 26th start of the year for the Padres, coming in with a 2.81 ERA. He struggled in his lone start against the Dodgers in 2025, allowing four runs in as many innings. Pivetta’s been a workhorse this season, ranking second in the National League in wins and ninth in total innings pitched.

For the Dodgers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto got the ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Like Pivetta, is posting a sub-three ERA and leading the way for his team’s pitching staff. However, Yamamoto also wasn’t perfect in his lone start against the Padres, allowing three runs over six and a third innings.

The first three batters of the game gave Pivetta some serious trouble. Shohei Ohtani walked to lead off, which was followed by a liner to center for a single by Mookie Betts. After Freddie Freeman walked, suddenly, Pivetta was in deep trouble early on. Teoscar Hernandez gave the fifth pitch he saw a ride out to center, but Ramon Laureano made a grand-slam robbery out by the short wall. Ohtani came in to score, but the catch saved San Diego from a crooked number in the first. Strikeouts of Alex Freeland and Andy Pages served as a nice bounce-back for Pivetta, as he escaped the first inning.

On the other side, Yamamoto cruised through the Padres’ first seven hitters. He threw perfect first and second frames, but ran into trouble facing the Padres’ eight and nine-hole hitters, Jake Cronenworth and Elias Diaz. Cronenworth’s single to left field broke up the no-hit bid, setting the table for Diaz. Against one of the NL’s best pitchers, the Padres’ backup catcher flew a home run to deep left-center field. The two-run shot gave San Diego a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth.

Elias Díaz just Hit the Buds!

Reply to this post with #HitTheBuds and #Sweepstakes to enter to win an autographed jersey. pic.twitter.com/O99I2P2iTf

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 24, 2025

Pivetta was extremely effective after the busy first inning. He kept his pitch count down, allowing just two additional baserunners through the fifth inning. However, Freddie Freeman got to him in the sixth. It looked like Pivetta was on cruise control to a six-inning, one-run start. Suddenly, Freeman ambushed a cookie of a fastball for a game-tying blast to center field.

FREDDIE TIES IT! pic.twitter.com/utj7qW5LZ1

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 24, 2025

Entering the seventh inning, Jeremiah Estrada took over for the Padres. Quickly, he got himself into trouble by allowing a single to Andy Pages and a walk to Michael Conforto. Even though the Padres managed to thwart Miguel Rojas‘s bunt attempt, it didn’t matter. Nine-hitter Dalton Rushing worked a full count against Estrada, earning himself a middle-middle slider, which he hammered for a go-ahead blast. With two runners on, the Dodgers took a commanding 5-2 lead.

DALTON. RUSHING. pic.twitter.com/t8FAaKD5WM

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 24, 2025

However, the fireworks weren’t done just yet. After allowing a single to Mookie Betts, Estrada was replaced by Wandy Peralta. Facing Freeman, Peralta surrendered another home run, the third in the last two innings— and the second of the game for Freeman. The Dodgers took a 7-2 lead, getting out of grand slam range in the seventh inning.

Gavin Sheets doubled off of new pitcher Jack Dryer to lead off the Padres’ half of the seventh. However, Ramon Laureano grounded out and Jake Cronenworth struck out, ending Dryer’s outing. Afterwards, Blake Trienen entered to face Elias Diaz and struck him out handily on three pitches.

In the top of the ninth, the struggling Yuki Matsui entered to face the Dodgers’ 9-1-2 hitters. Quickly, Shohei Ohtani added a run on a rocket of a home run to right.

SHOTIME. pic.twitter.com/AIYilF058d

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 24, 2025

In the bottom half, Kirby Yates came in to close for the Dodgers. Will Wagner— who came to San Diego at the deadline— came in to make his Padres’ debut at the major league level. He gave a good bid at an infield hit, but was thrown out on a good play by Alex Freeland. Yates shut the door, getting Gavin Sheets to fly out to end the ballgame.

San Diego will go on the road tomorrow, heading up to Seattle for a three-game set. JP Sears will get the ball for the Padres, and Bryce Miller will take the mound for the Mariners. First pitch will commence at 6:40 PM.

Willy Warren

A 17-year-old San Diego native, Willy Warren is a baseball fan at heart who created High Leverage Baseball, a public baseball media account covering around-the-league statistical analysis and breakdowns on X. Willy is set to attend the Cronkite School of Journalism in the fall of 2026 at Arizona State University, where he’ll pursue a major in sports journalism.