A Late Surge Falls Short
The San Diego Padres mounted a furious comeback attempt on Friday, erasing a six-run deficit to take a narrow lead, only to watch it slip away in the final innings. Despite the dramatic shift in momentum, the Los Angeles Dodgers secured a 12-7 victory in front of 54,081 fans at Dodger Stadium.
San Diego’s offense exploded early, taking a 6-0 lead by the end of the second inning. Machado launched a two-run homer to center field in the first, followed by solo home runs from Merrill and Cronenworth in the second. Cronenworth’s blast also drove in two additional runs, extending the Padres’ advantage.
Dodgers Fight Back
Los Angeles began chipping away at the deficit in the third inning. Muncy doubled to center, allowing Betts to score, and Tucker followed with a single that brought Muncy home. The Dodgers tied the game in the fourth inning when Pages doubled to left, scoring Edman and Rushing. Betts doubled to center to score Pages, and Muncy singled to center to bring Betts home, giving Los Angeles an 8-6 lead.
Padres Strike Again
San Diego regained the lead in the fifth inning. Edman doubled to right, scoring Rushing, and later scored on a wild pitch by Dodgers pitcher Matsui. The Padres extended their lead to 10-6 before Rushing hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to score Tucker, making it 11-6. In the eighth, Rushing singled to right, scoring Tucker again, pushing the score to 12-6.