Second Postseason Upset Advances Padres to NLCS

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The San Diego Padres will face the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday at Petco Park in their first National League Championship Series game since Oct. 14, 1998, after completing one of the greatest postseason upsets in baseball history.

The Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3, Saturday night, at Petco Park to win a National League Division Series three games to one. The Dodgers won a franchise-record 111 games in the regular season, 22 more than the Padres.

The only greater difference in victories for a postseason series winner was the 1906 Chicago White Sox, who defeated the Chicago Cubs in the World Series after winning 23 fewer games in the regular season.

Los Angeles had a 93.5% chance of winning Saturday when its lead grew to 3-0 in the top of the seventh inning on Will Smith's sacrifice fly that drove in Mookie Betts, according to ESPN Analytics.

However, its lead was gone five batters into the bottom of the seventh after the Padres combined a walk to Jackson Profar, a single by Trent Grisham, an infield single by their No. 9 hitter Austin Nola, a double by Ha- Seong Kim and Juan Soto's single for three runs.

Manny Machado struck out for the first out and Brandon Drury fouled out to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman for the second out.

Yency Almonte, the second Los Angeles pitcher of the inning, was supposed to throw to first to give Alex Vesia more time to warm up, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Instead, he threw a four-seam fastball to Jake Croneworth for a ball.

"I don't know how it got lost in translation," Roberts said.

Vesia entered the game with the count 1-0. On the 1-2 pitch, Soto was credited with a stolen base when Smith, the Dodgers catcher, did not throw to second base. Croneworth hit the next pitch for single, driving in Kim and Soto and giving the Padres a 5-3 lead.

Robert Suarez, the fifth Padres pitcher, retired Los Angeles in order in the eighth. Josh Hader struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth, ending the game by striking out Freeman on three pitches for his third postseason save in three postseason save opportunities in 2022.

The Padres outhit the Dodgers, 9-7, left eight runners on base and were 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Los Angeles left nine runners on base and were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Tim Hill, the third Padres pitcher, was credited with the victory, retiring both batters he faced in the seventh.

Almonte was charged with the loss, allowing two runs and two hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Padres starter Joe Musgrove allowed two runs and six hits over six innings, striking out eight and walking three.

Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson pitched five shutout innings, allowing two hits. He struck out six and walked two.

Roberts said "there was some thought" about allowing Anderson to pitch the sixth inning, "but I thought where he was at with his pitch count, who was coming up, I just felt that we had enough arms to get through that."

"With a 2-0 lead, Soto, Machado coming up again, I just felt that he's going to be in the 90s at that point in time, I felt that we had enough coverage," Roberts said.
Anderson threw 86 pitches.

Los Angeles opened the scoring in the third when Freeman doubled in Betts, who walked, and Trea Turner, who doubled.

The Dodgers added a run in the seventh. Steven Wilson issued a full- count walk to Betts, the first batter he faced. Betts moved to second on a wild pitch and third on Trea Turner's bunt single. Freeman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Smith followed with a sacrifice fly.

On Hill's first pitch, Turner and Freeman executed a double steal, giving the Dodgers runners on second and third with one out, but Max Muncy struck out and Justin Turner grounded out to end the inning.

Los Angeles is the second team with more than 100 victories that the Padres have eliminated in the 2022 postseason. They defeated the New York Mets, who had 101 regular-season victories, in their best-of-three wild-card series.

The Phillies won 87 games to earn the third of the National League's three wild-card playoff berths, then defeated the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals in a wild-card series and the NL East champion Atlanta Braves in an NLDS.

Philadelphia would not have qualified for the postseason without Major League Baseball's expansion of the postseason from 10 teams to 12 beginning this season.

The Padres were 3-4 against Philadelphia in the regular season, including losing three of four at Petco Park.

Neither team has announced a starting pitcher for Game 1.