There was only one way Shohei Ohtani would not get a hit in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night.
Amazingly, the Dodgers stumbled straight into the most unlikely, far-fetched disaster ever.
With runners on first and second base and the MVP favorite taking his turn with no outs in a two-run game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts asked Miguel Rojas to attempt a bunt on his first pitch at the plate.
But when Rojas threw a strike and the Padres infield changed its defensive formation, Roberts changed his mind – and watched in horror at what happened next.
Rojas swung to the side and hit a ground ball to third baseman Manny Machado. He hurried to step on third base before firing a throw to second base. Then teammate Jake Cronenworth completed the relay with a quick hit to first base.
In a flash the game was over.
Padres, 4. Dodgers, 2. This is only the 28th major league game to end in a triple play.
“The probability that Shohei won’t get to bat is less than 1%,” Roberts said. “And unfortunately that small percentage came to fruition.”
The Dodgers (93-64) still lead the National League West by two games, and they still have a chance to rebound against the Padres (91-66) in the next two nights of this week’s decisive series.
But if they fail to do so and ultimately lose the division lead they have held since the opening matchday of the season, Tuesday’s defeat will have a major impact on their thinking.
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A team accustomed to October slumps may have gotten a head start this year.
“It’s shocking,” Roberts said. “It’s obviously very disappointing that Shohei isn’t standing up.”
The Dodgers shouldn’t have won Tuesday’s game anyway, as the team performed poorly in their biggest series of the season.
On the mound, San Diego starter Michael King struck out Dodgers rookie Landon Knack. While King allowed just one unearned run in five innings, Knack was knocked out in a four-inning, four-run game – a worrying result for an unproven pitcher who will likely be a starter in the postseason.
The Padres (91-66) were also more determined at the plate, scoring all four of their runs with two outs, while the Dodgers left seven men on base and scored two of ten runs with runners in scoring position.
Overall, however, the Padres played cleaner and, continuing a trend Roberts had highlighted before this series, with seemingly more intensity. They were better than the Dodgers, who knew that a series win this week would clinch the division but could also drop to second place if they couldn’t avoid a sweep.
“They hit the big hits when they needed them,” Roberts said. “And when we needed to pitch, we just couldn’t.”
And yet, despite being 4-1 down at the beginning of the ninth round, there was still a chance to save the day.
Will Smith and Tommy Edman opened the inning with singles. Kiké Hernández then dropped a broken-bat floater in center to score a run.
With no outs in the inning and the deficit reduced to two, Ohtani stepped into the circle to the delight of the 50,369 spectators, anticipating the fact that he was about to make a potentially game-winning hit.
But Rojas got to bat first. And on the bench, Roberts and his team made some big-stakes decisions.
On the first pitch from Padres closer Robert Suarez, Rojas was instructed to bunt. The veteran infielder ran in a 97-mph fastball but pulled it back as it grazed the bottom of the zone, scoring strike one.
“I think I had a chance to get the bunt early in that at-bat,” Rojas said. “But I didn’t get it done.”
As Rojas looked back up the line at third-base coach Dino Ebel, he received a new signal from the dugout: Swing.
As Roberts later explained, he saw the Padres infield go into a “wheel play” after the first pitch – the corner infielders ran onto the grass, Cronenworth shuffled to the base at second base, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts stayed deep in the gap between second and third base.
This lineup suggested the Padres were expecting another bunt. Roberts feared that would result in an easy out, and possibly two if the Padres could turn the game around quickly.
“You can’t bunt because you’re going out of bounds,” Roberts said. “With the infield in play and Bogaerts out of position, your best chance is to put the ball in play and hopefully find a gap.”
Did Roberts even think about a triple play?
“No,” he said. “Not at all.”
How about when Rojas’ grounder went to Machado with a jumper?
“No,” he repeated. “I thought (Machado) would move from third to first.”
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Instead, Machado threw the ball to second base, where Cronenworth received it just before Hernández’s slide. Rojas sprinted to first base in vain, but didn’t have much of a chance of getting there in time.
“I let the team down,” Rojas said in a serious mood in the clubhouse after the game.
On the other side of the stadium, Machado and the Padres popped champagne bottles to celebrate their secure entry into the postseason.
“I thought he was going to bunt,” Machado said. “But when he hit a ground ball right at me, I immediately thought, ‘Hey, let’s try to turn the ball over and get out.'”
After the game, Roberts said he did not regret the decision to abandon a bunt attempt.
“He hit the ball hard,” Roberts said. “And I just can’t play in a way where it’s a great play if it gets through and a bad play if it hits it right.”
Rojas also agreed with the decision and echoed Roberts’ sentiments regarding the Padres’ shift in defensive strategy.
“Given the way they played defense, it made sense for me to swing the bat there,” he said. “I’m absolutely confident I’m going to get a fastball. Unfortunately, I hit it on the ground.”
Now the Dodgers must regroup to avoid total disaster in the final week of the season.
If they can’t contain the Padres – who would have a head-to-head record with the Dodgers if they tie at the end of the season thanks to their 8-3 record in this year’s rivalry – the club would have to begin its postseason a week earlier than expected with a best-of-three wild-card round that could further wear down an already undermanned pitching staff.
“It’s important,” Roberts said of his team’s need to recover. “Really important.”
The same was true for Ohtani, who came to bat in the ninth inning on Tuesday.
It was almost certain that this would not happen.
The Dodgers can only hope that the same fate does not await them in their quest for a division title.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
