LOS ANGELES — The San Diego Padres held on to beat the LA Dodgers 4-2 Tuesday night, in dramatic fashion, with the game ending on a triple-play. As a result of the win, the Padres now clinch a spot in the postseason.
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In view of the late-game situation, there was a runner on first and second base with no outs, as the first three batters in the bottom of the ninth inning all singled (Will Smith scored).
Up to the plate came the No. 9 batter, Miguel Rojas. On the first pitch of the at-bat Rojas showed he wanted to bunt, however, on the second pitch from closer Robert Suarez, he took a full swing. This turned out to be a worst-possible scenario, as the ball was hit directly to third baseman Manny Machado, who stepped on the bag, threw the ball to second, before Rojas was then thrown out, completing the 5-4-3 triple play.
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This was especially painful for Dodgers fans, who were all standing to their feet, expecting to see Shohei Ohtani hit in a potential walk-off storyline, as he was up next in the batting order.
That is to say, if Rojas would have bunted, the most plausible set-up would have been a runner on third and second base with one out. Then the Padres may have elected to intentionally walk Ohtani, which means Mookie Betts would have been up to the plate with bases loaded and one out, not to mention you would then have Freddie Freeman waiting in the on-deck circle as a safety net.
In the post game press conference, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke about what had transpired, in regards to the ninth-inning rally ending on a triple play.
"There's less than a 1% that Shohei doesn't come to bat and unfortunately that small percentage came into play."
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The NL West standings remain closer than ever, as the Dodgers (93-64) now only lead by 2.0 games over the Padres (91-66).
With playoff-seeding implications on the line, these two teams will face-off again in Los Angeles on Wednesday (September 25; 10:10 pm ET) and Thursday (September 26; 10:10 pm ET).
Related: Padres Set MLB Record With 3 Walk-Off Home Runs In 3 Consecutive Home Games
