Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium but the Los Angeles Dodgers continued with their power surge by slugging five long balls en route to an 8-3 victory that completed a sweep of the San Diego Padres. L.A. finished the season series by taking nine in a row against San Diego.
Mookie Betts lit the spark early by lifting his 29th career leadoff home run, ninth with the Dodgers and seventh this season. Corey Seager followed that with a line-drive homer that cleared the short fence in right field.
It gave Betts and Seager a home run for the second consecutive game and the Dodgers a set of back-to-back blasts for the second time in as many nights.
The Padres cut their deficit in half behind Ha-Seong Kim’s solo home run in the second inning and it remained that way until Justin Turner and AJ Pollock combined for back-to-back blasts in the fifth.
For Turner it marked the 150th home run of his career, and it was Pollock’s second long ball in as many games.
Those prevented the Dodgers from facing a deficit when Tatis clubbed a two-run home run that out of Dodger Stadium. His drive to the left-center field pavilion hit off the back of the roof and rolled into the plaza, traveling an estimated 467 feet.
Tatis became the fifth player in MLB history to hit a home run out of the Dodger Stadium and the first to do so since Giancarlo Stanton in 2015. Overall, it has happened six times as Willie Stargell accomplished the feat twice.
After relying on power to take a lead, the Dodgers turned to small ball in the sixth inning. Trea Turner led off with an infield single and moved into scoring position on a groundout. Will Smith’s flare to right field dropped for an RBI single, and after Justin Turner’s base hit put runners at the corners, Pollock drove in a run with his sacrifice fly.
Cody Bellinger’s RBI single up the middle capped off the rally and Seager clubbed his second home run in the seventh inning to give the Dodgers bullpen more than enough breathing room to finish out the game.
Dodgers’ potential Wild Card
Should the Dodgers fail to catch the San Francisco Giants in the National League West, they would face the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Game, which has been set for 5:10 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
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