Padres Series Recap: Weather, Dodgers Bats, Make it Rain at Petco
The third game of the three-game series between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers was postponed due to rain, an abnormality in Southern California.
The skies were dropping precipitation on May 7, forcing the postponement, and moving the game to September 2, which now is a doubleheader.
Those who watched the first two games of the series also saw a lot of rain, in the form of baseballs. The Dodgers bats made it rain extra-base hits in those two games, outscoring the Padres by a combined 18-4.
The Dodgers won Game 1 by the score of 8-2. Cody Bellinger hit two home runs in that game. The first was a solo shot off Jhoulys Chacin. The second was a three-run bullet to straightaway center field off Miguel Diaz.
The Padres failed to capitalize on critical scoring opportunities for the second straight game.
Three different Dodgers pitchers allowed walks to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. From that point, Sergio Romo got Hunter Renfroe to whiff on a backdoor slider for the second out. The next hitter was Erick Aybar. He hit a low line drive towards the third base side. Justin Turner laid himself out to make a highlight-reel catch to end the inning. The Dodgers got out of the inning unscathed.
L.A. took the lead when Andrew Totes hit a double with two men on, driving them both home to put the Dodgers ahead 3-2.
Bellinger hit his second home run of the game in the ninth inning to make the score 8-2.
Clayton Kershaw was originally scheduled to pitch in Game 3, but that changed when Brandon McCarthy was pushed back one day after feeling shoulder soreness.
Kershaw pitched another gem against the Padres, something that has come to be expected. Kershaw now has a 2.00 career ERA against San Diego, and 1.85 at Petco Park.
Kershaw squared off against another Clayton, that being Clayton Richard. Oddly, they both threw to catchers named Austin. Kershaw was caught by Austin Barnes, and Richard by Austin Hedges.
Kike Hernandez made plays happen both with his bat and with his arm. In the bottom of the first, the Padres started off with two straight singles off Kershaw, and appeared to build an early rally.
Wil Myers hit a fly ball to deep center. Hernandez made the catch and then threw out Manuel Margot at third base, impeding any chance by the Padres to score in the inning.
Richard looked like an escape artist through the first few innings. In the top of the first, he allowed a leadoff walk, followed by a single. He then got Turner to hit into a double play, and struck out Franklin Gutierrez to get out of the inning without allowing a run.
In the top of the third, Barnes led off with a double, and then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Kershaw. Richard recorded consecutive strikeouts to again escape without allowing a run.
His luck ran out in the fourth. After allowing the first two hitters to get on base, he gave up an RBI-single to Bellinger. The Dodgers scored another run when Hedges pickoff attempt of Hernandez got away from Ryan Schimpf‘s glove. Hernandez scored to make the score 2-0. Yasiel Puig added an RBI-single to make it 3-0 before the inning ended.
Hernandez added an RBI-double in the fifth to push the Dodgers’ lead to 5-0.
Schimpf hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth. It was the second time Schimpf homered off Kershaw this season. He hit a home run off the Dodgers’ ace on April 3.
The Padres loaded the bases in the eighth inning, giving them a chance to move even closer in the score. Kenley Jansen got Renfroe to strike out looking. Renfroe struck out with the bases loaded for the second night in a row.
Bellinger hit his first career grand slam in the ninth inning, off Miguel Diaz. The score became 10-1.
The Padres added a run in the bottom of the ninth when Jabari Blash scored on a throwing error.
The growing pains with this team looked much more pronounced in this series than any other time in the season. They failed to score after loading the bases in two straight games. On top of that, they had a chance to get ahead of Kershaw early, but failed to capitalize.
This series should prove to be a vital learning experience for this young squad. These games hurt, but they should be beneficial in the long run.
Next up, the Padres play a split series against the Texas Rangers. They play two games at home on May 8-9, then go to Arlington for the second two games, May 10-11.
Mike is the sports editor for the Fayette Advertiser, and has been with East Village Times since 2015. His work has appeared on Bleacher Report. He is an avid Padres fan who is keeping the faith and trusting the process.