Dodgers could be foiled by familiar foe

Seeing the booze-drenched celebration around him through the tinted lenses of his eyewear, Manny Machado suddenly recalled he’d done this before.

Two years ago, in this very locker room at Dodger Stadium, he’d celebrated the San Diego Padres’ entry into the playoffs.

“Last time didn’t work out too well for us, though,” said Machado, the seven-time All-Star third baseman.

Last time, soon after they sprayed sparkling wine and cheap beer on each other, the Padres ran into the Dodgers in a National League Division Series. They were eliminated in five games. Dodgers players and officials later said the Padres were the best opponent they faced on their way to a World Series championship, but that didn’t make the defeat any less painful. 

Big brother beat up little brother again.

“Hopefully,” Machado said, “this is different.”

In the wake of a three games series in Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers know it can be different.

“They’re just a very talented team,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I was never going to count those guys out.”

By claiming the last two games of the series, including a 4-2 win on Thursday that secured them one of the NL’s three wild-card spots, the Padres made themselves a team the Dodgers don’t want to run into in October, particularly in a best-of-five Division Series that would minimize the two-time defending World Series champion’s advantage in depth. 

For the Dodgers, their saving grace could be that while another NLDS showdown is possible, it’s also unlikely.

The Dodgers clinched a first-round bye earlier in the day when the Atlanta Braves lost to the Cincinnati Reds. If the Dodgers remain the NL’s No. 2 seed, they would play the winner of a Wild Card Series between the Braves and the No. 6 seed.

The Padres are currently the No. 4 seed, meaning they would play the No. 5 seed in the Wild Card round. But the Padres finish the regular season against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have an outside chance of catching the Philadelphia Phillies for the final wild card spot. Already guaranteed a place in the postseason, the Padres could decide to rest the slumping Machado but also their vaunted bullpen.

From the Dodgers’ perspective, the Padres falling to the No. 6 seed and defeating the Braves could be a nightmare scenario, and not just because they have a .651 winning percentage since the All-Star break.

Forget about how the Dodgers won seven of the 10 previous meetings this season between the two teams. The Padres are as well-equipped as anyone to exploit the Dodgers’ weaknesses. The series earlier this week showed why.

Just as they were two years ago, the Padres are trouble.

In particular, their bullpen is trouble.

“We’re one of those teams that if we play well, we can beat anybody,” said Padres right-hander Walker Buehler, who was pitching for the Dodgers two years ago.

In each of the two games they lost to the Padres this week, the Dodgers collected more hits than their opponents. But in a frustrating replay of their midseason slump, they couldn’t deliver a deceive blow at critical times.

The Dodgers like to grind the opposing starter out of games relatively early and attack the bullpen. But in the case of the Padres, their bullpen is their strength.

They have the best closer in baseball in Mason Miller. They have a high-octate left-hander in Adrian Morejon.

The only game of the series the Dodgers won, ironically, came against the Padres’ No. 1 starting pitcher, Michael King. 

The next day, the Dodgers forced Robbie Ray out of the game after only 3 ⅓ innings. With one out and the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Ray was replaced by right-hander David Morgan, who limited the damage to one run.

The Padres emerged from the inning with a 2-1 lead, as Morgan struck out Shohei Ohtani with a 98.5-mph sinker on the outer half of the plate. The remaining five innings were covered by Yuki Matsui, Bradgley Rodriguez, Morejon and Miller.

The series finale was equally, if not more, exasperating for the Dodgers. This time, they ran Padres starter Nick Pivetta out of the game before he completed five innings. Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning.

No matter. The Padres scored a run in the sixth, added three more in the seventh, and the game was basically over.

“We pitched great from start to finish,” said Miller, who closed out the win.

In what was perhaps the most promising at-bat of the series for the Dodgers, Ohtani doubled off a 102.6-mph fastball by Miller to drive in a run in the ninth inning. In the context of the game, however, it was too little too late.

The Padres have something else on their side: Momentum. 

They were 48-48 and in third place in the NL West at the All-Star break. Since then, they have a .651 winning percentage.

“We kind of locked in as a group,” Machado said.

Machado now thinks the Padres have a shot to win their first World Series. He thinks they have a chance to finish the season differently than they did last time.

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