SAN DIEGO — One area where the Dodgers admittedly struggled last October was a lack of energy compared to what the Padres brought to the table in the National League Division Series.
It’s something the Dodgers had to sit and think about all winter while also watching the Padres make some splashy moves. Though the Dodgers were the league of the NL West for over a decade, it felt like the Dodgers came into this season as a forgotten team in the division.
When the two NL West rivals met for the first time, it was the Padres who struck the first blow in front of a raucous home crowd. But on Saturday, the Dodgers showed more urgency and hit back, beating the Padres 2-1 at Petco Park.
“I think one of our strengths is that we’re going to be able to persevere this season and not go too high, not go too low, but have high expectations of ourselves,” said Dodgers coach Danny Lehmann, who served as assistant manager while Dave Roberts his son attended college.
The day began with Clayton Kershaw having to answer questions about a meme that appeared on the Petco Park scoreboard after Friday’s game. It was a picture of Kershaw sitting in the dugout with fake tears streaming down his face.
“If you don’t like it,” Kershaw said, “you better play.”
The Dodgers actually played better on Saturday.
After two erratic games, Dustin May was looking for a strong start and the right-hander delivered arguably his best performance of the season, showing much better control across all his pitches against an aggressive Padres line-up.
“This guy was tough on the mound today,” said Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres right fielder. There’s not much you can do. If he misses something, you take advantage of it. But he made good pitches from the start.”
May set the tone early as he jumped off the mound after hitting Juan Soto right in the knees with a sinker. The right-hander is usually animated, but there was a bit more gear up the hill on Saturday. May ended his night with six strikeouts, allowing just three hits over six scoreless innings.
“It was great going out and putting up zeros for the guys and being able to come out with the lead and let the bullpen take over,” May said. “Played really good defense. Hit the ball when needed and it was a really good game.”
With May and the bullpen keeping the Padres at bay, the Dodgers were able to get just enough offense against Blake Snell, who was solid again against Los Angeles. Snell only allowed one hit over six innings, but it was a big one when Chris Taylor hit a hanging left-handed change for a two-run homer in the fourth inning.
Taylor, who got off to a slow start at the plate again, has been a lot more productive lately. In his last five games, Taylor is 7-for-16 with one homer and five RBIs.
“I feel more comfortable in the penalty area, more relaxed and have a better view of the ball,” said Taylor. “Just being comfortable with everything and not trying to feel something and then get results also helps.”
Whether each team wants to admit it or not, there was a different intensity on the field at a regular-season game on May 6th. That’s what everyone should expect from the next 11 duels between two teams with talented rosters. This time it was the Dodgers turn to edge out a tight one.
“The mood here is really good,” said Lehmann. “It’s fun to play in. The players love it. … Today was a good day.”