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After Hostile G2, Padres Rebound vs LA

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SAN DIEGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – No matter what has been thrown the San Diego Padres’ way — from the mound or from the stands — not much has deterred a club headed back to the warm embrace of home. The Padres did not just even their National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at a game apiece on Sunday.

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They walked into a must-win situation on the road, hit six home runs and grew even closer as a team amid a hostile fan atmosphere to put momentum firmly on their side.

The Padres return home on Tuesday for Game 3 of the best-of-five series following Sunday’s 10-2 win at Los Angeles.

San Diego controlled the Dodgers’ offense and rose to the occasion after Dodgers fans threw baseballs and beverage cans toward Padres outfielders Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the seventh inning on Sunday.

Padres third baseman Manny Machado was the voice of reason before the eighth, gathering his teammates for a reminder on channeling anger and energy into the game. San Diego made it a rout from there, scoring six runs over the final two innings, with four home runs during that span.

Padres right-hander Yu Darvish, who allowed one run over seven innings on Sunday, characterized Machado’s rallying cry as, “Some dirty words here and there.”

Tatis, who hit a pair of homers, offered a bit more insight.

“We just gathered up together and we told each other, especially Manny, to control our emotions,” Tatis said. “The game was on our side. We know what we’re capable of. It was just a reminder who we really are as a group and just how crazy we can turn a place to go nuts.”

Now Padres fans get a chance to turn up the energy with the next two games of the series at their park.

San Diego can advance to the NL Championship Series without leaving home, which is the route it took in 2022 after it lost Game 1 of the NLDS to the Dodgers before winning the next three.

The Padres will send right-hander Michael King (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound for Game 3 after he struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings last Tuesday in a 4-0 Game 1 win over the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card round.

King was 2-0 with a 3.10 ERA in four appearances (three starts) against the Dodgers this season and has a 2.82 ERA in five career appearances (22 1/3 innings) against Los Angeles.

The Dodgers will turn to right-hander Walker Buehler (0-0, 0.00), who has playoff pedigree but has traveled a rocky road this season after two years away following his second career Tommy John surgery.

Buehler was 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts this season but was solid on Sept. 26, when he gave up one run to the Padres in five innings. He ended up with a no-decision as Los Angeles went on to a 7-2 win that clinched its 11th NL West title in 12 seasons.

With their pitching situation tenuous at best, the Dodgers knew they would have to lean into their offense, but the heralded top three spots in the order combined to go 0-for-12 in Game 2.

Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and Mookie Betts had a home run robbed by Profar in left in the first inning.

No. 3 hitter Freddie Freeman went 0-for-2 before exiting after the fifth inning with continued right ankle discomfort from a late-season injury. Enrique Hernandez went 0-for-2 in Freeman’s place.

“It’s really frustrating but there’s nothing really to do right now,” Betts said after Sunday’s game. “You just have to keep going and hopefully it turns.”

–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media

Dodgers Defeat Sox (Again)

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – LA’s Enrique Hernandez had game-tying hits in the ninth and 10th innings, Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit a game-ending RBI single in the 11th and Los Angeles turned multiple rallies into a 7-6 victory Saturday against the visiting Boston Red Sox.

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It marked the second consecutive Dodgers victory over the Sox after the season resumed post All-Star break.

Hernandez tied the game in the ninth with a home run against former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and added a two-out RBI single in the Los Angeles’ two-run 10th inning after Boston’s Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th.

Smith’s game-winning hit off Greg Weissert (2-2) came with the bases loaded. Right-hander Blake Treinen (3-2) earned the win with a scoreless 11th inning.

Gavin Lux had a home run and a double as the Dodgers pulled off consecutive comeback victories over the Red Sox after they lost six of seven games before the All-Star break.

O’Neill hit a pair of home runs for the Red Sox, including a two-run shot in the seventh inning for a 4-3 lead.

Jarren Duran hit a two-run double for the Red Sox and has delivered multiple hits in four consecutive games wrapped around a home run and MVP Award in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

Jansen’s blown save was his first since April 16. Boston starter Brayan Bello gave up three runs over six innings with seven strikeouts.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Lux’s home run to right field, his fourth of the season. Duran’s two-run double in the fifth inning gave Boston a 2-1 advantage.

The Dodgers went on top 3-2 in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Teoscar Hernandez and a sacrifice fly from Andy Pages.

Duran walked with one out in the seventh and O’Neill hit the first pitch for a 4-3 advantage. Enrique Hernandez’s home run off Jansen, to tie the game 4-4, was his sixth of the season.

O’Neill’s homer in the 10th off right-hander Evan Phillips was his 18th of the season.

–Field Level Media

Bello Starts-Off Sox Second Half

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report)Taking advantage of a starting pitching staff ravaged by injuries, Boston Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello is quickly starting to establish himself as an ace.

Bello has been rolling since late April and will look to continue dominating opposing lineups when the Red Sox open a three-game series against the host Chicago Cubs on Friday night to begin the second half of the season.

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After seeing left-hander Chris Sale hit the 60-day injured list due to a stress reaction in his shoulder blade, the Red Sox suddenly found themselves in more danger when right-handers Garrett Whitlock (elbow) and Tanner Houck (facial fracture) both landed on the 15-day IL.

But Bello (6-5, 3.04 ERA) has come to the rescue.

Over his last 12 starts, the 24-year-old has gone 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA. In addition to allowing no more than three earned runs in each of those 12 outings, Bello has worked at least five innings on 11 occasions during that stretch.

In his most recent start, Bello held the Texas Rangers’ high-octane offense at bay on July 5, surrendering two runs on eight hits in seven innings. He didn’t issue a walk while striking out three.

“The sinker is my best pitch and it always gets me out of trouble, and (July 5) was no exception,” Bello said through a translator. “(July 5) was a really good day for me, everything was working well, the changeup and sinker, and I was glad to be able to get quick outs after those first couple innings.”

Bello has never faced the Cubs.

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (3-3, 3.04) will oppose Bello and try to bounce back from a rough outing against the New York Yankees on Sunday.

Hendricks was tagged for four runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, but he escaped with a no-decision after Chicago scored six unanswered runs en route to a 7-4 win.

“That’s a really nice team win, something I think we needed going into the break,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “These guys have fought really hard. The way we’ve come back here lately has been really impressive.”

Chicago has won four of its last six games after going 1-7 over its previous eight. The Cubs have received a boost from right fielder Seiya Suzuki, who is 9-for-22 (.409) with a home run, two RBIs and three runs in his last six games.

Suzuki would be the hottest hitter heading into Friday’s matchup had it not been for Japanese countryman and Boston left fielder Masataka Yoshida, who is on a historic run.

Yoshida has logged seven consecutive multi-hit games, becoming the first rookie in Red Sox franchise history to accomplish the feat since Johnny Pesky did so in 1942. He is batting .517 (15-for-29) with two homers, five RBIs and seven runs during his streak.

If Hendricks wants to contain Yoshida and the rest of Boston’s lineup, he will need to replicate his only previous performance against the Red Sox. On April 30, 2017, Hendricks limited Boston to two runs on three hits across six innings while walking three and striking out six.

The Red Sox and Cubs last met in July 2022, when Chicago took two games of a three-game set at home. Prior to that, the clubs hadn’t faced each other since 2017.

–Field Level Media