Dodgers final score: Shohei Ohtani helps Padres to 4-3 win, NL West closer

Pushed to the limit by a formidable opponent, the Dodgers found peace of mind with a 4-3 victory over the Padres on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, and now have an even tighter grip on the NL West standings.

It’s only fitting that in this team’s most important game of the regular season, its most valuable player should be the hero. Shohei Ohtani’s 2-RBI performance paved the way for the Dodgers’ victory. Ohtani scored the first run batted in in the fourth inning against Cease, and a few innings later he singled to put Arian Morejón ahead.

Ohtani’s second hit gave the Dodgers the lead in the sixth inning and prompted an emotional outburst from him in the dugout, something that has become more common in the final week as the playoffs approach.

When dangerous offenses face outstanding pitchers, the pitcher usually has the advantage in most low-scoring All-Star games. On a night when both starters were far from their best, neither offense was able to take advantage of the situation in an effective way to win the game.

It’s become a cliche when you hear about taking every opportunity in the first inning against an ace, but it’s become one because it’s true. Once again, the Dodgers had the opportunity to punish Dylan Cease in the first inning after he allowed several hitters to walks but settled for a single run. This was the beginning of a trend that would accompany the first half of the game: the Dodgers became dangerous and prevailed, and the Padres quickly answered, getting to Jack Flaherty.

The Dodgers’ early lead was gone as quickly as it came when San Diego scored two runs in the second. It should not go unnoticed that the threat was much greater, and probably the damage would have been greater had any of the other Dodger starters been on the mound, except for Yoshiobu Yamamoto. After the first three were reached, San Diego had runners on the corners, Flaherty on the ropes, and no outs, scoring only one run.

Both starters struggled through most of the innings until the scenario repeated itself in the fourth inning. The Dodgers regained the lead with a two-out rally at the bottom of the lineup, but Fernando Tatis Jr. tied it with a mammoth home run in the fifth inning.

When you take 100 pitches to cover five innings and allow three runs, you’re not exactly treated as an ace, but another look at Flaherty shows a pitcher who kept the Dodgers in the game in a regular season game with an almost postseason-like atmosphere. That would be virtually the same lie for Cease, who also left his bullpen to cover four innings in a tied game.

While the Padres bullpen faltered at the first sign of trouble, the Dodgers bullpen held firm. Blake Treinen deserves some attention, as he mowed down the heart of the lineup with just seven pitches and has retained the ability to pitch again tomorrow.

Details for Sunday

Home runs: Fernando Tatis Jr. (21)

SS — Alex Vesia (5-4): 1+ IP, 2 walks

LP — Jeremiah Estrada (6-3): ⅔ IP, 1 run, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

Sv — Michael Kopech (15): 1 IP, 1 Walk, 1 Strikeout

Next

These two teams will face off on Thursday at the same place and time (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA) for the final time in 2024. Joe Musgrove and Walker Buehler will face off in a duel of the longest-tenured starting pitchers to have pitched in this series. If the Dodgers win on Thursday, they win the division.