SD 4, LAD 2: Friars deliver some sweet revenge in September

When you're sitting in the cellar of the NL West towards the end of the season there's only one thing you've got worth doing: dragging the Los Angeles Dodgers down with you. Tonight, that's what the Padres did. With a combination of some stellar pitching against the first place Dodgers and some classic 2016 Padres players taking advantage of some weak spots in the LA rotation - the Friars started what might be a nice little role of spoiler.

Clayton Richard returned to Dodger Stadium in his Padres uniform for the first time in a very long time. It's likely almost everybody in the home crowd forgot about him, so he made sure at least a few would mutter his name under their breath. He did it by going 5 quick innings giving up only 1 run (an RBI single in the 4th.)

Brandon Morrow picked up after Richard and just as quickly gave up a home run and a pair of singles. He was promptly replaced by Brad Hand, who diffused the situation by striking out Corey Seager and then inducing a groundout. The dumb Doyers would have nothing else to show for the rest of the night.

Julio Urias pitched against the Friars tonight. The dude was pretty nuts in August, and was posting a sub 2 ERA by the end of the month. The Padres lineup started Urias above that average tonight, and did it with a single swing of the bat by Derek Norris in the 6th. An RBI-double to tie the game 2-2.

After throwing a couple more guys at the Pads, another weak spot was found through Adam Liberatore. The lefty with a last name that sounds like an American Pokemon gave up a solo HR to Yangervis Solarte (his 14th of the season), and a full-count RBI-single to Brett Wallace. The score settled at a solid 4-2 lead for the good guys.

The 3+ hour game finally ended when Brandon Maurer shut things down with a scoreless 9th. The Dodgers' lead on the NL West was effectively frozen for the night, after the Giants lost 2-1 to the Cubs. The Padres inch their way out of the basement of the division, and give fans something to at least half smile about before going to bed before Labor Day weekend starts.