Tatis homers again as Padres beat Dodgers 6-5, take 2-1 NLDS lead

Mookie Betts also homered for the Dodgers to break an 0-for-22 playoff slump, but apparently thought left fielder Jurickson Profar had robbed him like he did in Sunday night’s 10-2 Padres win at Dodger Stadium, when tempers flared on the field and in the stands. Betts rounded first and headed toward the dugout before teammates and even King motioned that it was a homer.

Tatis’ shot into the left-field seats was his third of the series, leaving him one shy of the NLDS record held by Carlos Beltran (2004, Houston) and Nick Castellanos (2023, Philadelphia).

Tatis had two of San Diego’s six homers Sunday night. The flamboyant Tatis stood for a few seconds and watched the ball sail out of the yard, flipped his bat and gestured toward the dugout before beginning his trot.

King got his second win in as many playoff starts after allowing five runs and five hits in five innings, with three strikeouts and one walk. He was coming off a gem in the opening game of the Wild Card Series against Atlanta, when he became the first pitcher in history to have 12 strikeouts with no runs and no walks in a post-season debut in San Diego’s 4-0 win.

Betts gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first after some confusion.

He lofted a fly ball to the left-field corner with one out in the first inning at almost the same distance as he did in Dodger Stadium on Sunday night, when Profar leaped and reached into the crowd to make the catch. After Profar landed, he trolled the fans by staring at them and bouncing up and down several times before throwing the ball to the infield.

Profar leaped again Tuesday night but couldn’t bring it back, with the ball ticking off his glove and into the crowd. Betts rounded first and turned toward the dugout before he got to second. Betts’ teammates in the dugout, including Max Muncy, motioned for him to keep going and King gestured with his right arm that it was fair.

Betts resumed his trot after his first playoff hit since Game 3 of the 2022 NLDS against San Diego, which the Padres won in four games.

San Diego’s second-inning outburst came against losing pitcher Walker Buehler, who was making his first playoff start since Game 6 of the NLCS against Atlanta. Buehler missed the 2023 season after undergoing a second Tommy John surgery in August 2022.

The first five Padres batters reached and scored. Xander Bogaerts drove in a run on a fielder’s choice and David Peralta hit a two-run double. Kyle Higashioka hit a sacrifice fly two batters before Tatis homered with two outs.

Manny Machado hit a leadoff single and ended up on third after first baseman Freddie Freeman fielded Jackson Merrill’s grounder and hit Machado on the left shoulder while throwing to second from his knees.

Buehler also went five innings, allowing six runs and seven hits with no strikeouts and one walk.

The Dodgers opened the third by loading the bases on consecutive singles by Miguel Rojas, Shohei Ohtani and Betts before Hernández hit a towering shot to straightaway centre.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: SS Miguel Rojas came out of the game in the top of the third. … Freeman was back in the lineup after coming out after five innings on Sunday night with discomfort in his sprained right ankle. He was lifted for a pinch-runner after limping to first on an eighth-inning single.

UP NEXT

Neither team has named a starter for Game 4 on Wednesday night.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Bernie Wilson, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Tatis homers again as Padres beat Dodgers 6-5, take 2-1 NLDS lead

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