The San Diego Padres punched their ticket to the Major League playoffs in the most improbable way of all turning a ninth-inning triple play to beat the Dodgers 4-2 in the opener of a crucial series Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
In the final week of the 2024 season, the Dodgers entered the game needing to win two of the three games in the series against the Padres to be crowned champions of the Western Division again. But San Diego, thanks to an absolutely unthinkable ending, has placed itself only 2 games behind Los Angeles with five games left in the season.
The Dodgers (93-64) and Padres (91-66) will be playing in October, but it remains to be seen who will be the division champion and who will have to go through the wild-card round.
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Down 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers came alive by stringing together three hits with no outs to get within 4-2 and put the potential tying run on base. With men on first and second after Enrique Hernandez’s RBI single, Venezuelan Miguel Rojas came up to bat to face fellow countryman Robert Suarez, the Padres’ closer.
Rojas, after feinting a sacrifice bunt on the first pitch, hit a hard grounder to third baseman Manny Machado, who stepped on the mat and threw to second base, where Jake Cronenworth forced the runner and threw to first in time to complete the triple play.
It is worth mentioning that the next batter for the Dodgers was none other than Shohei Ohtani, in the midst of the best hitting streak of his career. However, the triple play robbed the Japanese of the chance to be the hero of the night and continue improving his records.
“I feel like I let my team down,” Miguel Rojas said after the game, saying he had confidence in hitting freely and being able to hit the fastball of pitcher Suárez. “I couldn’t do the job.”
Dodgers were silenced by San Diego pitchers
Michael King pitched 5 innings with just 1 unearned run allowed to lead the Padres’ pitching, the team with the best record in the Major Leagues since the All-Star break. Five relievers limited the powerful Los Angeles lineup to one run.
Ohtani went 1-for-3, doubled on the first pitch of the game, and walked. His 95th extra-base hit set a new Dodgers record.
The Padres took the lead in the second inning on Jake Cronenworth’s two-run homer off starter Landon Knack. The lead increased to 4-1 on Xander Bogaerts’ RBI single and Cronenworth’s double in the fourth.
In the second game of the crucial series, a good duel of starters is anticipated between Dylan Cease for San Diego and Jack Flaherty for Los Angeles.
Miguel Rojas receives the Roy Campanella award
The Dodgers announced Tuesday that Venezuelan infielder Miguel Rojas has been named the winner of the Roy Campanella Trophy, which is given to the team’s player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the legendary catcher.
Rojas, the 14th Dodgers player to earn the award, has earned a place as a leader of the club with his strong performances as well as his positive influence.
On Tuesday, however, Rojas had to bear the burden of hitting into a triple play, which almost never happens, let alone for the outs that ended the game.
