The Los Angeles Dodgers silenced the San Diego Padres 8-0 in Game 4 of the NLDS on Wednesday, keeping them alive in the series and giving them a chance to clinch a winner-take-all battle in Game 5 on Friday night.
The Dodgers had dropped the last two games of the series after jumping out to an early 1-0 series lead thanks to the heroics of superstar designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. With their backs against the wall facing elimination, Los Angeles came away with a resounding victory. Let’s take a look at the good and the bad from Wednesday night’s affair.
Good news: Mookie Betts appears to be over years-long playoff slump
Prior to Game 4, Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts spoke glaringly about his pronounced playoff struggles dating back to 2021, saying that all of his at-bats, particularly in the 2024 postseason have all been “terrible.”
Prior to his two-hit day in Game 3, Betts had gone hitless in his previous five postseason showings, and had not hit better than .182 at the plate since Game 6 of the 2021 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. He followed up his big outing in Game 3 by going 2-5 at the plate with his second straight home run in as many games along with 2 RBIs — over one of the best pitchers in baseball in Padres RHP Dylan Cease at that.
It’s a major plus for the Dodgers to have the former 2018 AL MVP back in his groove. Ohtani has been carrying the team throughout the year leading into the NLDS, as is expected of him, but there’s no excuse for his MVP teammates in Betts and Freddie Freeman not giving them that quality of play next to him. Betts provided no reason for excuses last time out, and can be counted on to keep his new streak alive in a pivotal Game 5 next time around.
Bad News: The Dodgers still have question marks in their starting rotation
How can an 8-0 win signal a reason to worry about the Dodgers’ starting pitching rotation moving forward? Well, despite preventing the Padres from touching home plate or sending a bomb into the stands, their bullpen rotation did not allow for the franchise to see a fourth starter give them a dominant outing that is much needed following three consecutive letdowns to kick off the series.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a rocky playoff debut in Game 1, conceding five earned runs in three innings of work despite the win. Additionally, stand-in ace Jack Flaherty and the on-and-off Walker Buehler both endured major struggles in Games 3 and 4 respectively. The Dodgers will need one of their guys to step up and give them new life on the mound.
Los Angeles wound up featuring eight pitchers in Game 4, each throwing no more than 1.2 innings of near-perfection. Nonetheless, the Dodgers’ weak point on their roster is their injury-riddled starting rotation, and they came away from the triumph without an ounce of new confidence that the guys they have leading the way can stifle San Diego without question in Game 5 and up the ante in a potential NLCS berth.
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Good news: The Bullpen game turned out to be a major success
It is good news that their collective did what needed to be done not only to deliver a win but also to keep the Padres scoreless. Each of the eight pitchers that took the mound did their job on the day. Per the Associated Press (via ESPN), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had this to say about the effort his guys gave:
“Overall the guys were efficient, understanding that they’re going to have to do up/downs, go a little bit longer potentially,” Roberts said. “So the efficiency of the strike zone was huge and it gives us options for Game 5.”
L.A. opened up the contest with Ryan Brasier, who delivered four outs against four batters in 1.2 innings before Anthony Banda came in and protected a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Righty Evan Phillips earned the win for also garnering four outs against four batters faced from the tail end of the bottom of the fifth into the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Padres did connect on several pitches which led to pop-outs and fly-outs, which is something for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to closely monitor ahead of Game 5, especially considering that San Diego is the most efficient hitting unit in the Major Leagues in 2024.
They could easily find gaps in Game 5 that can make that affair ugly, unlike the pretty win the Dodgers mustered up in Game 4. Nevertheless, Los Angeles was resilient toward the end of the game, as Blake Treinen avoided having three runners on in the eighth inning, which is what they’ll need from all their relievers in support of Yamamoto on Thursday night.
Looking ahead to Game 5
The Dodgers will play for all the marbles in Game 5 against the Padres in front of their home fans at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. Yamamoto will look to right the ship and deliver on what the Dodgers invested in with a convincing outing on the mound. L.A.’s batting order can prepare to face off against Padres star Yu Darvish, who tossed three strikeouts and allowed only one earned run in an imposing seven innings in the Padres’ 10-2 thrashing of the Dodgers in Game 2. They’ll need all hands on deck to reach the NLCS.
