The Padres beat the Dodgers 5-1 to reclaim first in the NL West, their latest solo division lead this late since 2010.
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The San Diego Padres reclaimed sole possession of first place in the National League West with a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night at Petco Park. This is the latest in a season since 2010 that the Padres have held the division lead while chasing their first title since 2006, according to USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale.
San Diego’s starting rotation carried the series, with Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes tossing back-to-back stellar performances rarely seen against the Dodgers. On Friday, Darvish allowed just one hit over six innings. Cortes followed on Saturday by retiring the first 16 batters he faced and carrying a perfect game into the sixth before Miguel Rojas broke it up with a single.
The veteran left-hander finished with six scoreless innings of one-hit ball, striking out four without issuing a walk. It was the first time since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958 that opposing starters held them to one hit or fewer across six-plus innings in consecutive games.
The Dodgers managed only two hits in the loss, both singles from Rojas and a pinch-hit home run from rookie Alex Freeland in the eighth. Freeland’s solo blast was his second homer in as many nights, accounting for the Dodgers’ only two runs through the first two games of the series. Los Angeles, who entered the weekend atop the division, has now dropped four of its last six games and fallen to second place for just the second day since April 27.
Offensively, the Padres capitalized on Tyler Glasnow’s control issues. Glasnow, who turned 32 on Saturday, lasted only four innings while allowing three runs on two hits and four walks. In the decisive fourth, San Diego loaded the bases with no outs before Ramon Laureano, acquired at the trade deadline, lined a two-run single.
Jake Cronenworth followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn, another midseason acquisition, were part of a flurry of moves that brought 22 new players into the organization at the deadline.
San Diego added insurance in the eighth inning when Xander Bogaerts doubled in Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, both of whom had reached via walks, extending the lead to 5-1. The hit was only the Padres’ third of the game but proved enough to put the game out of reach.
Adrian Morejon recorded the final four outs for his third save, sealing the Padres’ fifth straight win and their second consecutive victory over Los Angeles.
With 32 games remaining, the Padres (74-56) now hold a one-game lead over the Dodgers (73-57) as the rivals prepare for their final regular-season meeting Sunday.
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Category: Baseball
