I’m still trying to get my heart rate back down.
Last night was an emotional rollercoaster…… and it was only Game 1. We still have a lot of these to go, at least, I sure hope so!
The Dodgers won a thrilling game over the Padres, picking up the 7-5 victory. Because they won the game, I’m confident in saying this was one of the best postseason games during this Dodgers run of dominance over the last decade. I mean this truly felt like a World Series game.
I have a lot to say, so let’s get to it.
For access to all my articles, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month. You’ll be supporting an independent journalist, plus you’ll get some pretty sweet perks, including access to a Twitter groupchat filled with me and lots of other Dodgers fans!
The offense ACTUALLY showed up
When the Dodgers fell behind quickly in the top of the first inning I was thinking “Oh no!”
They trailed by three after just one inning, meaning they had to score AT LEAST four runs to win the game? With these postseason bats? Yikes!
Early on, it was looking like that would be the case. The Dodgers had a prime opportunity to tack on some runs in the first inning and they didn’t. They had a prime opportunity to tack on some runs in the second inning and it looked like they weren’t going to once again. They were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position to begin the game.
Then, Shohei Ohtani stepped up to the plate. Playing in his first career postseason game, Ohtani blasted one of the biggest home runs of his entire career. He crushed a three-run shot, launched his bat, let out a scream and tied the game.
What a moment.
The Dodgers’ bats kept fighting. In the fourth inning, they put together a rally with a handful of singles, cutting their deficit to only a run. With two outs, Teoscar Hernandez drove in two with a single to give LA the lead. Like he’s been doing all season long, Teo delivered in the clutch.
Overall for the game, the Dodgers scored seven runs. That’s more than they scored in their three-game series last postseason. They had 10 hits and drew five walks. They got Dylan Cease taken out of the game with only 3.1 innings under his belt. It was a beautiful game.
This is the offense we’re accustomed to seeing. These are the Dodgers bats we’ve been waiting for in October.
If the bats can show up the way they did last night, nobody is beating this team.
Dave Roberts and the bullpen cooked
All the scrutiny Dave Roberts has gotten over his career is how he has managed the bullpen in October. Well, he did a phenomenal job last night.
With Yamamoto going only three innings, the bullpen was needed to cover at least six innings. Safe to say they did their job. Five relievers combined to throw six scoreless innings. They allowed only two hits and struck out seven.
Ryan Brasier got called on first, as he was able to give the Dodgers five much needed outs on 20 pitches. Following Brasier was Alex Vesia, who was able to record three outs on only 13 pitches.
After Vesia was Evan Phillips, who quickly got four outs, needing only 14 pitches.
You would guess that Brasier is probably down tonight, but since their workload was so light you’d imagine that both Vesia and Phillips should be available in Game 2.
The only hiccup of the night was Michael Kopech, who got the ball in the eighth. Since being acquired at the trade deadline, Kopech has been the Dodgers’ best reliever. He entered with a two-run lead, set to face the heart of San Diego’s order. This was the guy you wanted on the mound.
He faced only three batters, as he walked two of the three, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with only one out.
Roberts immediately yanked Kopech after the third batter, turning to Blake Treinen. Genius move. Kopech didn’t have it at all so the fact Roberts pulled him when he was eligible might have saved the game.
Treinen retired the first batter he faced but walked the next, bringing Donovan Solano to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.
Treinen got him to strike out swinging, escaping the jam.
The Dodgers had a couple of options they could have gone with in the ninth inning. They had a fresh Anthony Banda and Daniel Hudson. Instead, Roberts sent Treinen back out for the ninth after making 13 pitches the inning prior.
He quickly retired the first two batters and got to two strikes on Fernando Tatis Jr. He singled, bringing the tying run to the plate. Jurickson Profar walked, bringing Manny Machado to the plate in the biggest moment of the game.
I think we were all thinking that ball was going to be sent to the parking lot. After starting the at bat with a ball, Treinen finished with three straight strikes, including a swing-and-miss at a ball in the dirt to end the game.
All the right decisions were made. Pulling relievers when he did were the correct calls. It’s easy to blame Dave and want him fired when a move doesn’t go right, but we gotta give credit where credit is due. He did a hell of a job last night and so did the bullpen.
Yamamoto was awful
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was originally scheduled to start Game 2, but the Dodgers switched him to Game 1, that way he’d be available in Game 5 if needed. Well, it’s a really good thing the Dodgers managed to win this game.
Yamamoto struggled right out of the gate, allowing a leadoff single and walk. Three batters into the game and the Dodgers were already trailing. After the disastrous start to Game 1 last postseason, it was imperative that the Dodgers get the bats up with the game tied at zero this year.
Well, I guess it was an improvement as they went to the plate only trailing by three this time!
Overall, Yamamoto was only able to give the Dodgers three innings. He threw 60 pitches, with only 34 of them being strikes. He allowed five runs on five hits and walked two. Overall, Yamamoto had only one strikeout.
His called strike/whiff percentage was 18.3 percent, by far the worst of his career. His previous low was 21.4 percent, but on the season he averaged 31.5 percent. That is a 13.2 percent drop from his season average…. not great!
Following the game, Dave Roberts said that Yamamoto may have been tipping his pitches. I’m not sure if that’s the case, because he couldn’t locate well all night. And when he did, he was throwing meatballs.
Considering it was a terrible start and yet the Dodgers still won, that has to be a massive win. He allowed five runs and didn’t provide any length, but the Dodgers still managed to hang on. Hopefully whenever he makes his next start he’s able to fix a lot of things, because the Dodgers can’t afford another one of these outings from him.
Dave was right. This team definitely has some fight in them. This was missing from the past couple of seasons. But man, what a game last night...
Let's f***ing go Dodgers!!!
Hopefully, Treinen is not spent for the series. He can’t be expected to pitch that much going forward. But THANKFUL HE DID!