Los Angeles Dodgers @ San Diego Padres — NLDS G3 (10/8/20) — Final: LAD 12, SD 3

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The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the San Diego Padres in game three of the National League Division Series, completing the sweep in dominant fashion, 12-3.

Young left-hander Adrian Morejon, getting the start for the Padres, worked three ground-ball outs to commence the game. Dustin May, pitching in Arlington near his hometown, struck-out Trent Grisham to get his day going. May then walked Fernando Tatís Jr., but the battery of him and Will Smith cut down Tatís Jr. attempting to steal 2nd. Manny Machado’s pop-out ended the inning. Morejon walked Max Muncy to open the second, and Smith, finally getting a bit of luck to go his way offensively, pulled a double just inside the line to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Cody Bellinger rolled over to Jake Cronenworth, who fielded and threw Smith out at 3rd while Muncy scored the first run of the game for the Dodgers. Morejon mitigated the damage with back-to-back strike-outs of Joc Pederson and Chris Taylor. Adam Kolarek relieved May in the bottom half, and he was welcomed by an Eric Hosmer base hit. Tommy Pham followed with a single of his own, and on Mitch Moreland’s ground-ball, Muncy made a good play to keep Hosmer at 3rd and get the out at 1st. Wil Myers was intentionally walked to load the bases with still only one out, and Kolarek then walked Cronenworth to even the score, 1-1. Kolarek fielded Jason Castro’s comebacker and calmly threw home, but Grisham’s subsequent infield single gave San Diego the 2-1 edge. Julio Urías entered to face Tatís Jr., and he fanned him to leave the bases loaded. Betts walked to begin the third, and he advanced on a wild pitch. Seager drilled one up the middle, but Tatís Jr. made a Superman-like diving play; however, his throw was poor, and it got by Hosmer at 1st. Betts jogged home with ease, tying the game at 2, and Seager took 2nd. Morejon was pulled, and Craig Stammen’s first pitch was pulled through the hole by Justin Turner, an RBI knock to re-give LA the lead, 3-2. Stammen got Smith swinging for the second out prior to giving Bellinger the intentional pass. AJ Pollock made him pay, lining a base hit to bring home another and double the Dodgers’ advantage. Pederson, battling after falling behind in the count, smacked a sharp single the opposite way, plating two more to make it 6-2 LA. Luis Patiño finally made it out of the top half with a fly-out of Taylor. Urías pitched a swift frame in the bottom half, and Patiño remanded in for the fourth. Betts roped a leadoff double, and Seager earned a walk. Turner’s sacrifice-fly put runners at the corners, and Tim Hill was called upon for the Padres. He struck-out Muncy, but Smith smashed a single up the middle to add another for the Dodgers. Urías, again, pitched a quick and spotless frame to finish the inning. Dan Altavilla trotted in from San Diego’s bullpen, and singles from Pollock and Pederson put him into trouble immediately. Taylor was then robbed of a base hit by a diving Cronenworth, resulting in a fielder’s choice, and Betts’ sac-fly continued the trend of stellar hitting by LA with runners in scoring position. Seager proceeded to earn a walk, but Altavilla escaped with a ground-out of Turner. In the midst of another perfect frame, Urías froze Grisham on strike three with a beautiful breaking ball. Urías remained on cruise control as the game moved to the sixth. Smith’s third hit of the game came with one out off of Matt Strahm, and Bellinger followed with a rocket single up the middle. Strahm and Austin Adams combined to get the final two outs without allowing a run to score. The first baserunner to reach against Urías was Machado, who singled to begin the Padres’ turn. A few pitches later, Hosmer’s liner was misread by Pollock in left, and his leap and extended glove only knocked the ball down. With runners on 2nd and 3rd now, Urías balked to pull San Diego within five, 8-3. He respond with a strike-out of Pham and two soft fly-outs to keep Hosmer 90 feet away from home. Emilio Pagán pitched a 1-2-3 frame in the seventh, and Urías got the first two outs with ease. He walked Grisham, and exited the game with Blake Treinen behind him — concluding a stellar relief performance. Tatís Jr. doubled, but Treinen escaped unscathed thanks to a line-drive right at Seager. Drew Pomeranz walked Turner and Muncy, and Smith’s knock, number four tonight, loaded the bases with still no outs in the eighth. Pomeranz answered with a strike-out of Bellinger, and walked off the field with Garrett Richards coming on. Richards got Pollock swinging and did the same with Kiké Hernàndez, keeping the Dodgers from gaining any insurance. Pedro Báez pitched a perfect frame with a pair of strike-outs to send the game to the ninth. With Trevor Rosenthal throwing, Betts walked and Turner was hit — thankfully, he was okay. Rosenthal also issued a free pass to Muncy, loading the bases for LA with two outs. Smith, setting a Dodgers postseason record, doubled up the line to score two more with his fifth hit of the game. Bellinger’s triple soon after put the finishing touches on a dozen runs for LA. Dylan Floro was given the ball in the bottom of the inning, and he pitched a scoreless frame to end the ballgame.

The boys in blue take care of business, sweeping the Padres in the NLDS. Led by timely hitting, good at-bats, and solid pitching, they advance to the NL Championship Series, where they’ll face off against the Atlanta Braves. While unofficial, it’s quite unlikely that Walker Buehler won’t be the game one starter for the Dodgers. Atlanta, with stars such as Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Marcell Ozuna, will most likely give the ball to left-handed stud Max Fried. The Braves, who also are yet to lose a game this postseason, have a sub-one team ERA, a WHIP not much different, and have been very good at the plate. Beginning the seven-game series as the home team, LA looks to continue their success in the Arlington bubble. Game times are unannounced, but the NLCS will kick off Monday. See you then! Go Dodgers!