Dodgers make wrong kind of history not seen since 1958 in back-to-back Padres losses

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Last October, Nestor Cortes endured one of the toughest moments of his career, surrendering the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history to Freddie Freeman. On Saturday night at Petco Park, he got a shot at redemption — and this time, the script flipped in his favor.

Cortes dazzled in his fourth start for the Padres, retiring the first 16 batters he faced and holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to just one hit over six shutout innings in San Diego’s 5-1 victory. The win moved the Padres into sole possession of first place in the National League West with 32 games left in the season.

“Obviously, there’s a history,” Cortes said of facing L.A. again. “Everybody knows about it. It sucks as a player to go through those moments, but the good thing about baseball is that you always have another opportunity. Once the opportunity comes, you try and make the best out of it, and that’s what I did today.”

Just one night after Yu Darvish limited the Dodgers to a single hit across six innings, Cortes delivered an equally dominant outing. According to MLB, it’s the first time since at least 1958 — when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles — that opposing starters held them to one or fewer hits in six innings on consecutive nights.

Padres reclaim first place from Dodgers

Padres manager Mike Shildt praised Cortes’ poise and execution. “That was tremendous,” Shildt said. “Once he gets in a rhythm, he’s really good. And he got in a rhythm from the very first batter. It was a fantastic effort.”

Miguel Rojas broke up the bid for perfection with a sixth-inning single, but Cortes calmly retired Shohei Ohtani for the third time to finish his night. He walked none and struck out three on 77 pitches.

The Padres’ bats gave Cortes some cushion in the fourth inning, when Ryan O’Hearn sparked a rally with a single off Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow. Ramón Laureano followed with a two-run knock, and Jake Cronenworth added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

O’Hearn and Laureano were both part of San Diego’s busy Trade Deadline haul, as general manager A.J. Preller acquired five players in one day to fortify a roster aiming for its first division title since 2006.

“Tip of the hat to A.J. for acquiring them,” Shildt said. “Tip of the hat to the clubhouse for acclimating them. Those guys came in and just absolutely embraced what we’re about.”

A week ago, the Padres left Dodger Stadium having been swept, their NL West hopes in question. But after taking three of four from the Giants and now two straight against Los Angeles, they enter Sunday’s finale with a chance to build a two-game cushion atop the division.

Cortes, who joined San Diego from Milwaukee at the deadline, knows the challenge ahead. “These guys are resilient,” he said. “They’re not at the top of the standings for no reason. Now, being part of them, you can tell how together everybody is. It’s a camaraderie, and everybody is just trying to win.” With Petco Park rocking and October inching closer, the Padres are making their move.

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