After shutting out the Padres on Tuesday, the Dodgers could only muster one run in a 5-1 defeat on Wednesday, snapping their home winning streak at 11 games.
Both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Robbie Ray kept the hitters in check over their first three innings, as Yamamoto secured three shutout innings on just 36 pitches while Ray needed 70 pitches in that same time.
Yamamoto began the top of the fourth inning by brushing the jersey of Dustin Harris on an inside pitch to give San Diego a leadoff baserunner,
and Manny Machado ensured the Padres wouldn’t be shut out again as he launched a two-run home run to center field to give San Diego the first lead.
The Dodgers responded with two consecutive singles from Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, and Andy Pages had his first hit back from the injured list with a bloop single to center field. Ray managed to get Max Muncy to fly out to shallow center, but his night was done after tossing 84 pitches over 3 1/3 innings. He was charged with a run as Tommy Edman lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Dodgers on the board. Mookie Betts walked on four pitches to make it bases loaded with two outs for Shohei Ohtani, but David Morgan got him whiffing on a fastball at 99 miles per hour on a 3-2 count to leave them loaded.
San Diego picked up where they left off against Yamamoto in the top of the fifth inning, as Ethan Salas and Fernando Tatis Jr. both singled to open the frame. A bunt attempt from Harris was hit right back to Yamamoto, but an errant throw to third allowed Salas to score. Manny Machado brought home Tatis with a sacrifice fly to center field, giving him three RBI on the night and making it a three-run San Diego lead.
Yamamoto would finish his night going six innings, marking the first time he didn’t log at least seven innings in the month of September. Wednesday’s outing was the first time since September 2 where Yamamoto allowed at least two earned runs, with his four strikeouts on the night being the fewest since he struck out three against the Boston Red Sox on August 1. Yamamoto ends the regular season with a 2.53 ERA, striking out 182 hitters across 185 innings.
The Dodger bullpen would hold San Diego in check until the top of the ninth inning as Blake Treinen allowed an RBI single to Freddy Fermin, allowing Samad Taylor to score to make it a 5-1 Padres lead.
Teoscar Hernández recorded another three-hit game, his third of the month, finishing 3-4 with three singles while raising his season average to .270 for the first time since June 30.
Andy Pages also finished with a three-hit night in his second game off the injured list, giving him his first multi-hit game since August 17 against the Colorado Rockies. Shohei Ohtani finished 1-4 with a single, a walk and two strikeouts in his first game off the injured list.
With the Dodgers losing on Wednesday, they once again sit two games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the top seed in the National League playoff picture. The Dodgers are still four games above the Atlanta Braves for a first-round bye, and their magic number to secure a bye remains at 1.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Manny Machado (29)
- WP— Yuki Matsui (4-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
- LP— Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9): 6 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs (2 earned runs), 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers play their final home game of the regular season against San Diego on Thursday (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading up to San Francisco for their final regular season series. Tyler Glasnow faces Nick Pivetta.
