SAN DIEGO — Yes, the Dodgers remain the favorites to win the National League West, and with more than a quarter of the way into the 2024 season, they have a comfortable lead at the top of the standings.
But if there is a challenger for the division this year… will it be the San Diego Padres? They are certainly filing lawsuits early on.
Over the weekend, the National League West rivals played their third series of the season, and the Padres have yet to lose a game. In their most recent tournament, they won an impressive 4-0 in a rubber match Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.
“This means we can play good baseball at the highest level,” right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said. “This series was as clean as possible for us.”
Solo home runs by Tatis, Jake Cronenworth, and Xander Bogaerts helped Yu Darvish, who pitched a scoreless seventh inning, get the win. The veteran right-hander primarily attacked using fastballs and sliders to keep the Dodgers off balance.
In the process, Darvish set a career-high with 18 consecutive scoreless innings, a feat he first accomplished in 2013. Since coming off the disabled list in late April, he has been absolutely dominant, lowering his ERA to 2.43.
Darvish also joins Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Matt Waldron as the fourth consecutive Padres starter to pitch at least five innings and allow two or fewer hits. According to ELIAS, no rotation has achieved this feat since at least 1893.
Padres manager Mike Shildt said, “Starting pitchers are the anchor of the club.'' “Listen, we've been able to win in a variety of ways, and we'll continue to try to win in a variety of ways.But the formula for consistent wins is getting starting pitchers. ”
The Padres understand that. And sure enough, they won their fourth straight series. They also have two wins against the Dodgers after the teams split the season-opening series in Seoul.
After Sunday's win, Shildt was hesitant (again) to put too much emphasis on the few games against Los Angeles. He spent most of the season downplaying the importance of these games while emphasizing that his top priority was winning the district championship.
On the surface, it would seem paradoxical. But Shildt insists it makes sense. He gave evidence this weekend, he said.
“If we're going to play our game, if we're going to play the way we're supposed to play, compete and execute regardless of the opponent…that's the recipe,” Shildt said. “Obviously that's a good club, I don't want to take that lightly. But every team we play is a quality ball club with big leaguers. We're going to go out there and play the right way. There must be.”
The Padres did that from the start of Sunday's game. Tatis and Cronenworth hit back-to-back in the bottom of the first inning. Tatis certainly hit the 442 feet and 169.2 mph that Statcast projected for his fight against Walker Buehler. It was a hell of a hit, dotting the outside corners with a 96 mph fastball — and a reminder of all Tatis is still capable of, despite his early struggles.
Cronenworth's subsequent outburst was certainly not “beyond doubt.” The ball was initially ruled in play because it bounced over the fence, and Cronenworth was tagged out at third base midway through a string of home runs. After a short replay review, Cronenworth jogged the final 90 feet, giving the Padres a 2-0 lead.
Luis Arraez had a force-out RBI in the fourth inning and Bogaerts had a home run in the fifth inning to end an 0-for-17 skid (a skid that included a share of line drives to the defense).
“I was happy to finally hit that one that I knew was gone, and I knew no one would ever come near that one again,” Bogaerts said.
From there, there was no doubt about the outcome. Darvish dominated through seven games. In the eighth inning, Wandy Peralta punched Freddie Freeman out of trouble. Closer Robert Suarez scored his ninth, as he has done all season. (The Padres were 16-0 when Suarez appeared.)
Five of Los Angeles' 15 losses this season have come to the Padres. And indeed, the Dodgers remain outrageous favorites to win the division. But if they're the measuring stick for the National League West, the Padres have delivered so far.
“They were really unpredictable,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Part of it is attacking the weaknesses of our hitters and playing to their strengths. But I really think they mixed and matched and executed well. Obviously, they… They came up to play us. And they played well.”
