Padres comeback bid falls short in 6-5 loss to Dodgers

Down three early in the fourth, the Padres mounted a late comeback - scoring two runs apiece in the sixth and ninth innings - but it came up heart-breakingly short as the Padres went down 2-0 in the NLDS after dropping last night’s game 6-5 in Globe Life Field.

The game-defining play came in the seventh when Fernando Tatis Jr. soared what looked to be the go-ahead run over centerfield with two outs on the board and a runner on base before the Dodgers’ Cory Bellinger scaled the wall to rob the 21-year old of a home run. It was just the second robbed homer of Bellinger’s career and his first in the postseason.

Had the home run made it past the fence, the score would have been 5-3 Padres entering the bottom of the seventh, but instead it stayed 4-3 Dodgers and the “home” team notched another pair of runs to increase their lead to 6-3.

Entering the final inning, the the Padres needed runs in the worst way. With the help of Jake Cronenworth, who reached base on an infield single, Mitch Moreland was able to crank a double into deep right field to score him from first and set the Padres up with a runner in scoring position down two runs with a lone out on the board.

Austin Nola would foul out the the catcher on the next batter, but Trent Grisham followed that with a single to right which brought home Moreland and inched the gap closer at 6-5.

Tatis and Manny Machado would be walked consecutively, which loaded the bases in what couldn’t have been more of a scripted ending to a dramatic playoff game. On a 1-2 count, Eric Hosmer would ultimately ground out to the pitcher which sealed the victory for Los Angeles as they head into game 3 with a 2-0 lead.

Game 3 is scheduled for tonight at 6:08pm.