On Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the San Diego Padres in their final regular-season meeting at Dodger Stadium. Both teams have made it to the postseason, and the chances of locking horns again are possible.
Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove started strongly, preventing the Dodgers from scoring in the first six innings.
Walker Buehler, who took the mound for LA, also had a decent start. However, he gave up the first run of the game in the fifth when Luis Arraez recorded an RBI groundout and put the Padres on the board.
Xander Bogaerts recorded a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth against Evan Phillips. The Padres took a 2-0 lead after six innings, but Will Smith tied the game with a two-run shot in the seventh.
Shohei Ohtani came in to save his team again with a go-ahead RBI single against Tanner Scott. Right after Ohtani's go-ahead run, Mookie Betts drove in two runs for the team, increasing their lead to 5-2.
Andy Pages' two-run homer in the eighth inning sealed the deal for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres Game Player Stats
Los Angeles Dodgers’ player stats
San Diego Padres’ player stats
Will Smith and Andy Pages hit home runs
Will Smith smashed a two-run home run against Musgrove in the bottom of the seventh inning. Smith launched one deep to center field to get his team back into the race.
Andy Pages smashed a two-run monster home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Los Angeles clinched the NL West Division with the win. The franchise has won 11 division titles in the last 12 seasons. It also marked Ohtani's first division title. He will feature in the postseason for the first time in his career.
The Dodgers will play three games against the Colorado Rockies before heading to the postseason. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is predicted to start against the Rockies in Game 2.
As for the Padres, they clinched a Wild Card spot and are left with three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yu Darvish is predicted to start in Game 1.