LFGSD
A Staggering Night in San Diego
Game 3 of the NLDS against the juggernaut Dodgers was a wild ride, starting from well before the first pitch and lasting deep into the night after the game. We’ll take you through the entire affair and talk about what this means for San Diego.
Started the night with the ceremonial walk over the footbridge past the legend @livejoedreamz
As soon as we walked into Petco the mood was set with the mariachi serenading the Friar faithful while sporting the City Connect bow-ties in front of the Padres Hall of Famers. The drip in this scene…
Gallagher square was mayhem.
And finding a Dodgers fan was like playing Where’s Waldo
When a Dodger fan did rear their head the Friar made sure to make it uncomfortable for them:
We stood there for a good 20 minutes laughing at each fresh chorus of boos as the Friar found a new victim. The Friar broke out an array of techniques, sometimes confronting the Dodger fan head on, other times sneakily following behind them with the sign over their head as the Dodger fan walked through the square getting showered in boos uncertain why they were getting so much attention. Rare air in Petco Park tonight.
Our getup kept confusing Dodger fans who thought they’d found a friendly face in the sea of Padres fans:
Once we made it to the seats the scene was unreal. It was nothing but Padres fans everywhere you looked. You had to strain and squint to see the few scattered Dodgers fans outnumbered 100 to 1. Every member of the Dodgers team was booed heartily as they were introduced. The Padres and the entire team staff lined up after and were cheered thoroughly throughout the pregame ceremonies:
They played this clip from a true Padre legend on the jumbotron at the end of the ceremonies and the mood was set:
The first inning started with Blake Snell facing down Mookie Betts. Blake pitched a ball, then a strike which received an enormous cheer from the crowd that kept buzzing all the way through to the next pitch. Unfortunately the third pitch of the at bat Mookie handled with a sharp single up the middle. If you’ve been to live Padres games you know those moments when an amped up stadium collectively groans as the air is sucked out by a hit from the opposing player. That was not this moment. The crowd got right back to buzzing with anticipation as Trea Turner stepped in. Blake threw a first pitch slider which Turner swung at and missed badly and the crowd erupted. The energy was palpable. Blake battled to a 2-2 count before striking out Turner with a 96 MPH fastball. The crowd reaction was uproarious. It was so electric it almost felt unsustainable, but as we’d see it was not. The supervillain Freddie Freeman stepped in next. The buzz in the stadium returned as Snell locked in. Freeman took two strikes looking and by the third pitch of the at bat the entire stadium was standing. Mookie would take second base when pitch number three, a wicked curveball, bounced in the dirt. Nola blocked the ball expertly but Betts’ baserunning skills were too dialed in. In years past the Petco crowd might’ve grown nervously quiet in a moment like this - with a runner on second and a super soldier at the plate, the traumatized fans anxiously awaiting some misfortune. Not tonight though. There was no meager retreat. There was aggressive energy in the air, fans sensing a kill. Snell would strike Freeman out looking two pitches later and the stadium noise was the stuff of Tony Gonsolin’s nightmares. Something started to feel different. Will Smith was up next and when he quickly went down 0-2, the fans smelled blood.
They’d be rewarded with a swinging strike three and as the Padres trotted off the field the cheering was incessant.
In the bottom of the first Soto smashed a double and was still on second with two outs when Cronenworth hit a soft liner off a Tony Gonsolin splitter into centerfield for a clutch RBI single.
What unfolded after was an incredibly tense game. Classic playoff baseball. Seemingly every inning both teams threatened, putting runners on and grinding out competitive at bats.
The Padres threatened in the bottom of the second after a Nola double put runners on second and third but a Soto popup would end the inning without a score.
The D*dgers returned fire in the third after a Trayce Thompson walk and Austin Barnes single put two on for Mookie Betts who barreled a liner to third that Machado snagged for the out and nearly doubled off Thompson. Blake Snell would reach deep to strike out Trea Turner, and after a Freeman walk, induce an inning ending popout to Will Smith leaving the bases loaded.
The Padres broke through in the bottom of the fourth when a familiar face did what he does best:
That ball was hit 110 MPH off the bat and is worth another look from a different angle:
Grishtober continued tonight.
The D*dgers biggest threat came in the top of the fifth as never-ending thorn in the Padres side, Trayce Thompson, blooped a single to right and defensive specialist Austin Barnes doubled to bring up Mookie Betts with runners on second and third. The Padres were facing down the top of the most threatening lineup in major league baseball with the tying runs on and no outs. This is when lesser versions of this team would have folded. Once again, that was not tonight. Snell retired Betts on a sac fly that did score one run. But Snell then overpowered Trea Turner again, getting him to popout foul. Supervillain Freeman was up next, but grounded out to end the inning. The Padres’ lead was intact.
The D*dgers would threaten again in the 6th when Muncy doubled, finally ending Blake’s night, but fail to score after Nick Martinez came in and struck out Justin Turner, and followed that with a super athletic play to retire Chris Taylor on a weak grounder to the left of the infield. Martinez’ previous experience as a shortstop was on display as he barehanded the slow roller and fired it to first. Impeccable defense.
Luis Garcia came in to work the seventh and set the D*dgers down in order.
Robert Suarez returned to pitch the eighth and Trea Turner led off with an infield single. Suarez nearly picked off Turner who seemed to jam a finger on his throwing hand diving back to the base. Suarez battled through the heart of the D*dgers order getting Freeman to fly out harmlessly to center, Will Smith to popout, then reaching back for something extra to blow Max Muncy away with a 99 MPH fastball for the inning ending strikeout.
The Padres took a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning and as expected Josh Hader was brought in to close it out. He has been the closer that was promised for the entire postseason and he was again tonight. He fooled Justin Turner badly on a slider inducing a popout foul. He overpowered Chris Taylor with fastballs touching 100 MPH getting the strikeout swinging. Everyone in the stadium, except the few D*dgers fans, were on their feet when Trayce Thompson came up trying once again to inexplicably continue his hall of fame form against the Padres. Hader battled from a 2-1 count to a full count, and punched Thompson out with a vintage 99 MPH fastball, the one he’s famous for and which made him the best closer baseball has seen in the past 10 years. The Padres won game 3 of the NLDS.
Full Highlights:
There were a lot of big moments tonight that won’t show up in the box score or highlights. Nola and Soto both got Petco’d, Soto doing so twice. Manny Machado played game changing defense reminding the world of how complete of a player he is. While there were a few D*dgers fans in the stands like germs on and otherwise clean counter, Petco was shining with the gold and brown of the Padres faithful in a way that San Diego natives won’t have seen before. This game had an absolute home field advantage, an enormous one. You could also see the vision A.J. Preller had as he assembled this team coming to life on the very biggest stage: virtuoso defense, a lineup that can do damage 1 through 9, ace starting pitching, and a deep bullpen that comes in breathing fire. The ingredients for playoff success are all there, and were on full display on an unforgettable night.
Trent was interviewed after the game and summed up the night perfectly:
Tomorrow night San Diego native Joe Musgrove will take the mound with a chance to do the impossible. We’ll be there. We hope you will be too. LFGSD