SAN DIEGO – Before the start of the weekend series against the Padres, Corey Seager calls it another match against a division teammate. Dave Roberts tried to pump the brakes on any talk of a rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres, saying there was more to a rivalry than just geography.
The intensity at Petco Park told a different story on Friday. Before the first pitch was cast, the sold-out crowd of 15,250 had already started some loud “Beat LA” songs. Good defensive plays and important hits were received with greater emotion than most matches played on April 16th. It also did not take long to see fireworks as the benches were cleared in the 10th inning.
San Diego has made a spate of moves this past season, aiming to dethrone Los Angeles at the top of the Western National League standings. The Dodgers reminded the Padres that it will not be easy, by taking the series opener 11-6 in an exciting 12-over game and extending their winning streak to seven.
As both teams traded jabs throughout the night, it was Seager and the Dodgers who delivered the knockout blow in the 12th. Seager jumped at the first pitch he saw from left-hander Tim Hill, crushing a two-pointer homer to give Los Angeles an 8-6 lead.
The Dodgers continued to add when Zach beat McKinstry and Luke Raley with RBI singles. After that, David Price (yes, David Price) planned a run with a sacrificial fly to the left field of Jake Cronenworth (who moved from second base to the hill to San Diego) to make it 11-6.
While the Dodgers have said all the right things externally to downplay the scope of the series, it is no coincidence that they had Walker Buehler on the hill on Friday and will turn to Clayton Kershaw on Saturday and Trevor Bauer on Sunday. It was also no accident that Roberts was aggressive in using Blake Treinen, Victor González, Corey Knebel and Kenley Jansen out of the bull.
On the other hand, the Padres planned Yu Darvish on Saturday, and Blake Snell takes the push on Sunday. Both teams are trying to send an early message to each other, and the first run this season was a classic.
If there is any doubt about these two teams’ opponents, the game put an end to it on Friday night. The Dodgers-Padres competition has the star power, a division title that is possibly at stake and there is clearly no love lost between the teams after their heated NL division series last season. The baseball world will still enjoy at least 18 fights between two of the most talented teams in the Majors.
The first round went to the Dodgers.