LOS ANGELES — Michael Wacha took the mound for the Padres as they looked to take their second in a row over the Dodgers and clinch a series victory. Things did not go as planned for him, with the Dodgers getting off to a hot start and securing runs in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th innings to take a big early lead. Despite Monday’s comeback efforts from San Diego, they did not have what it took to see history repeat itself for the second straight game. Los Angeles was able to keep applying the pressure on offense as Lance Lynn dominated most of the game for them from the mound. The Padres eventually took a big 11-2 loss and allowed the Dodgers to even the series with one game to play.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
Michael Wacha has rough outing
For the second straight game in the series, a San Diego Padres starting pitcher exited their start with 7 ER allowed and their team down big. Yesterday it was Pedro Avila who struggled but was taken off the hook thanks to the team’s comeback. Wacha was not so fortunate, as he allowed 7 to come across on 7 hits and 3 walks. He was pulled from the game after just 4 innings and 86 pitches with the Padres down 7-2. This was the same exact deficit that San Diego faced in the first game of the series, but this time things ended up a bit differently than yesterday. The recent struggle from Wacha has come as somewhat of a surprise when putting his 2023 track record into consideration. Before taking a loss in his previous start against the Phillies on September 6th, he had held a record of 11-2 and had gone without a loss since a start way back on June 2nd against the Chicago Cubs. He now stands at 11-4 after suffering back-to-back losses, and his ERA has swelled to 3.43. The team will still have reason to believe that he can turn things around in his last few starts of the season considering his proven consistency and ability to perform at a high level.
Bottom of the lineup fails to show up
As the Padres tallied just 5 hits all night long, every single one of them managed to come from the 1-4 spots in the lineup. Jurickson Profar, Juan Soto, and Manny Machado each had a hit while Fernando Tatis Jr. had 2. Nobody else in the lineup was able to provide any offensive production and left the team feeling helpless as the Dodgers kept piling on runs. The biggest highlight of the game on offense for San Diego was a solo home run from Fernando Tatis Jr., but it was too little too late for the Padres. The game was the second in a row for the squad in which the pitching staff did a poor job providing support, and this time the offense was unable to follow through. The team’s 1-7 performance with RISP helps to explain the lack of run support and points back to the theme of inconsistency that has been present within the Padres batting order all season long. The offense will need to step it up if they want to see the rest of the month go successfully, as the pitching depth for San Diego keeps getting thinner by the day. The Padres announced on Tuesday that Yu Darvish would be shut down for the season, leaving them without a key starter in their rotation.
Lance Lynn, Kyle Hurt leave the Padres scratching their heads
Of the two pitchers who carried the Dodgers to victory on Tuesday evening, neither one was on the roster when the season began. In fact, Lance Lynn was not acquired by Los Angeles until the trade deadline, where he made his first start with the team back on August 1st. For Kyle Hurt, Tuesday’s game was a big moment in his career. He ended up making his first big-league appearance out of the bullpen and helped Los Angeles in a big way. However, this should not surprise fans. It seems as if the Dodgers have a supernatural ability to help any player develop and ultimately contribute to the team on a high level. With Lynn starting the game looking to even his record on the season to 11-11, he went to work. Since joining the Dodgers, he has seen a complete resurgence and carried a 4-2 record with the team into his start against San Diego. Lynn allowed just 2 ER through 7 IP and kept the Padres offense in check while the Dodgers poured it on to pad the lead. His 111-pitch effort was much appreciated as he gave it his all against a division rival.
Things would only get worse for San Diego, as newcomer Kyle Hurt made quick work of them in his debut. Through the last 2 innings of the game, he pitched a flawless game and recorded 3 strikeouts as he put the Padres to bed.
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Hurt made quick work of three of the best hitters in baseball (Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, and Manny Machado) to get through his first professional inning with no issues. The moment will be one that he will remember forever, as the 25-year-old was finally able to break through to the big stage. This summer at Double-A and Triple-A, he posted an ERA of 3.87 through 16 starts and 9 relief appearances.
For the Padres, they had a player of their own make his MLB debut. Despite appearing in relief during a tough loss, Nick Hernandez was able to step in and pitch 2 innings out of the bullpen. He notched his first career strikeout off of Jason Heyward on the way to a 3-strikeout performance.
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San Diego and Los Angeles will go at it for the final time this season in the rubber match on Wednesday evening. With the Dodger’s magic number down to 5, the Padres will look to steal the series on the road and prevent that magic number from getting any smaller for at least another day. Blake Snell will take the ball as he faces off against Ryan Pepiot in a matchup that has the potential to be a solid pitcher’s duel.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PT.
