SUMMARY
The San Diego Padres capitalized on a total loss of Dodgers’ supply to claim a 5-3 win in Game 4 to join the Philadelphia Phillies in the Championship Series. The Padres were down three runs in the seventh inning, before putting five runs on the board.
San Diego advances to the National Championship Series for the first time since 1998. The Padres then beat the Atlanta Braves in six games before losing the World Series.
“It will be a party! Since I was young, we have been dominated by the Dodgers, admitted Joe Musgrove. But when it counts, this team rises from the top to the bottom of our roster. »
Best team in the Majors in 2022, the Dodgers were trying to access the Championship Series for the third consecutive year.
“They dominated us all year, but we came out strong at the right time. This team and this group of fans are united, we wanted to give them this Championship Series, and also give it to us,” added starting pitcher Musgrove after the game.
He gave up six hits and two runs in six innings pitched, in addition to passing eight batters in the mitt.
Back to the wall, the Dodgers scored for the first time of the game in the third inning. Freddie Freeman hit a double down the right that allowed Mookie Betts and Trea Turner to cross the plate to give the Dodgers a two-run lead.
Then at the start of the seventh inning, LA returned to the charge. With Betts in scoring position, Will Smith hit a sacrifice fly that allowed the Dodgers to increase their three-point priority.
With a Championship Series ticket on the line, the Padres upped their game in the bottom of the seventh inning. Taking advantage of two men on the trails courtesy of a tough performance from reliever Tommy Kahnle, San Diego scored its first run of the game on a single from Austin Nola that made it 3-1.
Kahnle was then taken out of the match in favor of Yency Almonte, but the result remained the same. With two men on the trails and no outs, Almonte first allowed a double to Ha-Seong Kim that closed the gap to 3-2.
Then what had to happen, happened. The next batter, Juan Soto, hit a single that drove in another run and tied San Diego. Almonte then recorded the first two outs of the seventh inning, before being substituted in turn, this time by Alex Vesia.
Moments later, Vesia allowed a single to Jake Cronenworth that drove in two runs and the Padres took control for the first time in the game. They no longer looked back and sped towards victory.
Josh Hader came to the mound in the 9th inning and completed the job by striking out Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman.
Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson was virtually flawless on the mound, as he limited the Padres to just two hits in five innings of work. Anderson also added six strikeouts.
The start of the meeting was delayed by one hour due to weather conditions.