Plenty of anticipation surrounded the first matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, and the series opener at Petco Park somehow exceeded expectations. L.A. came away with an 11-6 win in 12 innings, which was filled with tension for most of the night.
The Padres took an early lead when Walker Buehler’s first walk of the season kept the second inning alive and resulted in Luis Campusano lining a single into right field for his first RBI of the year.
Rookie Ryan Weathers protected the slim advantage as he pitched into the fourth inning in his first ever start. The night of firsts continued in the fifth on Luke Raley’s game-tying solo home run. “It felt great,” Raley said.
“I knew I hit it well and when I saw it go over the fence I was just extremely excited. I knew that tied the game up, and that’s what matters. Winning ballgames. That’s what I want to help the Dodgers do.”
Raley pulling the Dodgers even was short-lived as Fernando Tatis Jr. responded with a homer of his own in the bottom of the fifth. However, Tatis then was at the center of L.A. reclaiming the lead in the sixth inning.
With one out and runners at the corners, Tatis made a terrific diving stop in the hole, only to throw errant of second base. The ball rolled into foul territory in right field and both runners scored on the play. The Dodgers extended their lead on the ball getting away when Zach McKinstry struck out.
McKinstry later was on the wrong end of the ball taking a bad hop when his throw on a potential inning-ending double play in the seventh got away. McKinstry got that run back with an RBI double in the eighth, but the Padres pulled even in the bottom half of the inning.
Justin Turner and Eric Hosmer traded RBI base hits in the ninth, sending the game into extras. Both teams squandered multiple opportunities until Corey Seager led off the 12th inning with a home run.
That wound up opening the floodgates with the Dodgers taking a decided lead for David Price to comfortably convert a second consecutive save.
Roberts concedes Dodgers-Padres felt like ‘rivalry’
Manager Dave Roberts and several players have stated the Dodgers don’t share a true rivalry with the Padres, but Friday’s thriller changed that — even if only for one night. “Tonight, yeah, it felt like a rivalry tonight,” Roberts conceded.
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