Padres hold off Dodgers to split Seoul Series
Padres hold off Dodgers to split Seoul Series
Blog Article
The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 15-11 on Thursday to split the historic set of games in Seoul, putting on a wildly entertaining show that saw the teams combine for 33 hits.
The Padres seemed well on their way to a breezy win after jumping on the Dodgers' rookie starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto for five runs in the top of the first inning at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. They put up a four-spot in the third against reliever Michael Grove to open up a 9-2 lead.
But then the Dodgers had four runs of their own in the bottom third. A seesaw match ensued before Padres cleanup Manny Machado put an end to suspense with a three-run homer in the top ninth off reliever J.P. Feyereisen.
This was the second and final game of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s season-opening Seoul Series. The Dodgers won 5-2 on Wednesday in the very first MLB regular season game in South Korea.
The teams are scheduled to fly back to the United States early Friday.
For the Padres, South Korean shortstop Kim Ha-seong went 0-for-3 with an RBI and a steal.
The Padres gave Yamamoto a "Welcome to MLB" moment in the top of the first, torching him to the tune of five runs on four hits and a walk.
After a leadoff single and a hit-by-pitch, Jake Cronenworth knocked in the game's first two runs with a triple to the right field corner. Manny Machado drew a walk, before Kim made it 3-0 Padres with a sacrifice fly to center.
Two batters later, Luis Campusano sent a double down the left field line to put the Padres up 4-0, and Tyler Wade's single gave the Padres a 5-0 cushion.
Yamamoto, 25, won three Pacific League MVP awards in his native Japan from 2021 to 2023. He signed a 12-year, US$325 million contract in December, becoming the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history. 한국을 But he had a rough spring training, pitching to an 8.38 ERA in three starts, and wasn't able to flip the script in his regular season debut.
The Dodgers responded with a run in the bottom first thanks to Will Smith's one-out double off starter Joe Musgrove. But James Outman flied out to right with the bases loaded to waste a golden opportunity.
The Dodgers picked up another run, courtesy of Shohei Ohtani's sacrifice fly, but the Padres blew the game wide open with a four-spot in the top third.
After one out, the Padres touched reliever Michael Grove for three straight singles to load the bases. Xander Bogaerts brought home two runs with a single.
Fernando Tatis Jr. chopped grounder that ate up third baseman Max Muncy for an error, and Jackson Merrill scored to make it 8-2 Padres.
Cronenworth's sacrifice fly to center stretched the Padres' lead to 9-2.
However, the Dodgers refused to go away, responding with their own four-run frame to make the game more interesting.
First, it was Outman's RBI groundout that cut it to 9-3. Jason Heyward's follow-up single made it 9-4 and chased Musgrove from the game.
Two batters later, Mookie Betts smoked a double off the left field wall, putting the Dodgers within three at 9-6.
The Padres added a run in the top fifth with Cronenworth's single but then Betts kept the Dodgers in the game with a two-run blast in the bottom fifth for a 10-8 game.
It was the first home run of this series.
The Padres came right back with a run in the top sixth, as Luis Campusano doubled to left field for an 11-8 San Diego lead.
Another fielding error by Muncy at third let in a run for the Padres in the top seventh for a 12-8 lead.
A bloop single by Will Smith cut the deficit by one for the Dodgers in the bottom seventh.
Betts' single in the eighth made it a one-run game at 12-11, but Machado landed the knockout punch with his three-run blast in the ninth.
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