, the third Dodgers pitcher, struck out six, walked one and allowed an unearned run over his five innings.Garvey went to three World Series with the Dodgers and was part of their 1981 title. Three years later, he was with the Padres for their first World Series appearance.Tatis, Machado and these Padres, who got only one inning out of injured Mike Clevinger this postseason and were also without their other top starter Dinelson Lamet, will have to wait until next season for another chance to overtake the Dodgers.''They outplayed us. They played better baseball than we did,'' Tatis said. ''We've just got to learn. This is just getting started.'' The Padres loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, but there would be no more grand slams - not like in the four games in a row they hit those against the Rangers, including their only two previous games at Globe Life Field. That slam streak was part of seven wins in a row that pushed San Diego into second place in the NL West, where it stayed and finished six games behind the Dodgers.''Their pitching staff over there was really good,'' Padres rookie manager Jayce Tingler said. ''We had a couple of opportunities to strike when we had some baserunners on. It seems like when we got to those positions, that's when their guys beared down and made some pitches.'' San Diego did take a 2-1 lead, on rookie Jake Croneworth's walk after Wil Myers was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs, and Trent Grisham's RBI single before Tatis struck out.Only four pitchers had ever been younger when starting a potential elimination game than Padres lefty Adrian Morejon (0-1) at 21 years and 224 days old. He allowed three runs, the last batter he faced being Seager on the play with Tatis' error. The only pitchers younger when starting a potential elimination game were Kerry Wood, Steve Avery, Bret Saberhagen, and Fernando Valenzuela.REVOVLING BULLPEN DOORThe Padres' 11 pitchers were a record for any postseason game. They had matched the previous record of nine already three times - in Games 2 and 3 of the NL wild-card round against St. Louis and the NLDS opener. It added up to 51 different pitching appearances in six playoff games. The Padres used 24 total players Thursday, the most ever in any playoff game.''We knew we were short-handed, just not being at full throttle with all of our pitchers,'' Tingler said. ''But the one thing our guys did, they laid it out there. They gave it everything they had.'' OPENING UPDodgers starter Dustin May, the 23-year-old right-hander grew up about 30 miles away in Justin, Texas, threw more balls than strikes (9-7) in the first inning. But five of those pitches were at least 100 mph and he faced only three batters since Tatis was caught stealing when he overslid the base after drawing a one-out walk. May won the NLDS opener with two perfect innings.OCTOBER REDTurner had matched Garvey with his RBI single in Game 2 on Tuesday night, and later added a sacrifice fly. Turner's 37 RBIs are also a franchise record in the postseason. In 59 postseason games, the Southern California native has hit .294 (64 for 218) with nine homers.UP NEXTPadres: Spring training opener Feb. 27 against Seattle at the complex the two teams share in Peoria, Arizona.Dodgers: Their fourth postseason series against Atlanta, which swept Miami in the other NLDS played about four hours away in Houston. Their first three playoff meetings were in the NLDS, with Atlanta sweeping the Dodgers in 1996, and Los Angeles winning in four games in 2013 and 2018. The Dodgers also swept the Milwaukee Braves in the 1959 NL tiebreaker playoff.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Dodgers, seeking NLDS sweep, ponder closer roleOne victory from earning their way into a fourth National League Championship Series in five years, the Los Angeles Dodgers will go a bit out of character by waiting to name a starting pitcher for Game 3 of the NL Division Series.Manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday he would push his announcement to Thursday afternoon before his club faces the San Diego Padres in a potential Game 3 clincher in Arlington, Texas.And Roberts might have a second announcement to make after closer Kenley Jansen gave up two runs in the ninth inning Wednesday, nearly blowing the Dodgers' lead. Joe Kelly replaced Jansen and walked two to load the bases before getting the final out of Los Angeles' 6-5 win.Roberts already has said Jansen isn't a lock for the ninth inning every time the Dodgers are in front."I know (Jansen) is disappointed as well, so I'll keep thinking through it," Roberts said after the Wednesday game, all but signaling a desire to go another route in the ninth inning.Known for having a steady and formidable rotation, the Dodgers have started to embrace the idea of letting relief pitchers pass the baton from first pitch to final out. It became more of a necessity this year with right-hander Walker Buehler troubled by a blister issue all throughout September.Roberts still could name left-hander Julio Urias or right-hander Tony Gonsolin as a starter Thursday, or he could have a reliever open the game.He used right-hander Brusdar Graterol as an opener twice in the regular season, but Graterol pitched 1 1/3 innings Wednesday, although he did it in just seven pitches. And Graterol, with his 100 mph fastball, might be called upon now to spell Jansen as the Dodgers' closer.The Padres were one swing from winning in the ninth inning Wednesday. Instead of potentially going for a series lead Thursday, they are now trying to save their season.Game 2 might have ended in defeat, but San Diego showed a willingness to fight to the end. Mitch Moreland and Trent Grisham had RBI hits to knock Jansen from the game and cut a three-run deficit to one run.Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado then walked to load the bases against Kelly, but Eric Hosmer grounded out to end it.Another heartbreaking moment for the Padres came in the seventh inning, when Cody Bellinger robbed Tatis of a two-run home run by reaching over the center field wall."To load them up there at the end was just great at-bat after great at-bat," Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. "Our guys just kept battling, and I'm just extremely proud of them for that. They have been doing it all year, and they still have some gas in the tank. They're still going." Tingler will go with a bullpen game Thursday, opening with left-hander Adrian Morejon. The 21-year-old rookie started four times in his nine regular-season outings this year, but he never pitched more than three innings in any appearance. He went 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA in the regular season, then tossed a total of three shutout innings in two relief outings against the St. Louis Cardinals in the Padres' first-round playoff series.After Morejon, Tingler is likely to mix and match his arms. He used five pitchers Wednesday, but that was light compared to his recent bullpen usage. He has used nine pitchers three times already this postseason and has gone 2-1 while doing it."Like I said last series, whatever we've got, these guys are going to lay it all out there," Tingler said.--Field Level Media
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