Padres Crash the Party in Los Angeles

There were plenty of reasons for the Dodgers to be irritated Thursday night. Losing a series to the Padres at home was one of them. Watching San Diego celebrate a postseason berth in the visitors’ clubhouse was another. But the most aggravating part may have been how thoroughly the Dodgers had spent the previous two nights leaving opportunities scattered around Dodger Stadium.

By the time the Padres closed out their 4-2 victory, the Dodgers had stranded 19 runners over the final two games of the series. Nineteen. That is enough unused traffic to field two batting orders and still have a pinch-hitter sitting on the bench.

So, yes, there was champagne flowing in the visitors’ clubhouse. San Diego had just clinched its third consecutive postseason berth, a franchise record, and did it by taking two of three from the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

There was at least something to soften the blow for Los Angeles. Earlier in the day, Atlanta lost to Cincinnati, officially securing the Dodgers at least the No. 2 seed in the National League and, more importantly, a first-round bye. The Dodgers will open the Division Series on Oct. 3 rather than having to navigate the Wild Card round.

That was the important part of the evening.

The Padres celebrating in the clubhouse was the part nobody in Los Angeles was particularly interested in watching.

Tyler Glasnow certainly did his part to prevent it for as long as he could. The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out a season-high 11, giving the Dodgers exactly the kind of October-caliber start they will need when the games begin to matter in a different way. San Diego finally broke through when Ethan Salas and Fernando Tatis Jr. delivered back-to-back singles in the sixth, ending the no-hit bid and setting the stage for the Padres to manufacture their first run.

Glasnow's night ultimately ended with three runs on three hits, but the numbers don't really tell the whole story. He had been dominant for much of the evening, striking out at least 10 batters for the second consecutive start. The problem was that the Dodgers could not give him much margin for error, and when San Diego finally created some pressure in the seventh, the game tilted quickly.

Jackson Merrill opened the inning with a double and Xander Bogaerts followed with a walk, ending Glasnow's night. Justin Wrobleski came in and Austin Hays' single took a bad hop off Max Muncy's glove, allowing Merrill to score. Salas then lined a two-strike single to center to bring home Bogaerts before Tatis followed with another RBI single.

Just like that, a game the Dodgers had spent most of the night controlling had become a 4-0 Padres lead.

And that's where the 19 stranded runners from the previous two nights become more than a funny number.

The Dodgers had opportunities. They just couldn't turn enough of them into runs.

San Diego, meanwhile, had spent most of Thursday night looking for the one opening it needed. Once it found it, the Padres did not waste it.

The Dodgers finally showed some life in the ninth when Shohei Ohtani doubled home a run against Padres closer Mason Miller, pulling Los Angeles within 4-2. Ohtani had returned to the leadoff spot with San Diego sending a right-hander to the mound and finished 2-for-5 with a strikeout. But the comeback ended there, with Miller recording his 38th save.

The other Dodgers run was hardly the stuff of offensive fireworks, arriving when Adrian Morejon committed a balk in the eighth.

That pretty much told the story.

The Padres did enough when their opportunities arrived. The Dodgers spent two nights collecting them.

And there is a certain irony in watching San Diego celebrate a postseason berth at Dodger Stadium. This is not the first time the Padres have turned Los Angeles into their personal October launchpad. Their history against the Dodgers has supplied enough uncomfortable memories already, and Thursday added another chapter—not because the Padres dominated from start to finish, but because they took advantage of the moments the Dodgers left lying around.

The sting is real, even if the larger consequences are limited.

The Dodgers already won the NL West. They already secured a postseason berth. And now they have secured the No. 2 seed and the valuable five-day runway before the Division Series. After a season in which injuries have repeatedly forced the club to improvise, those five days may prove considerably more important than the outcome of a September series against San Diego.

Still, nobody likes losing two of three to the Padres at home.

Nobody likes watching the Padres celebrate.

And nobody likes looking at a box score and realizing that 19 runners were left standing on the doorstep over two nights.

The Dodgers head to San Francisco on Friday with Tarik Skubal scheduled to face the Giants. The champagne will be gone from the clubhouse by then.

The 19 stranded runners, unfortunately, aren't going anywhere.