THE The Dodgers scored once in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull within two runs of the San Diego Padres, they had runners on first and second with no outs and Miguel Rojas at the top, and in the circle on the bridge was Shohei Ohtaniwho had hit .778 (14-for-18) with five homers, two doubles and 13 RBIs in his previous four games.
The Padres, it seems, would need an act of divine intervention to prevent baseball’s hottest hitter and the National League’s presumed most valuable player from imposing his will on Tuesday night’s game, and third baseman Manny Machado is convinced they got one. Peter Seidler, the beloved former owner of the Padres died last November.
One pitch after reaching the bunt and taking a strike, Rojas hit a hard ground ball directly to Machado, who took two steps toward the bag and touched third base and fired to second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who threw to first base to complete a stunning game-ending triple play to complete the Padres’ 4-2 victory over the Dodgers.
“I think he’s been with us all year, he’s shining on us right now, smiling, enjoying this moment, enjoying this win with us, enjoying the celebration,” Machado said after the Padres clinched a playoff spot and cut the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West to two games with five games remaining.
“In a tough situation, with Ohtani in the defensive circle, we hit a triple play against one of the best teams in baseball? He’s looking at us.”
San Diego took a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning on Cronenworth’s two-run home run in the second inning and drive-in hits by Xander Bogaerts (single) and Cronenworth (double) in the fourth inning off Dodgers starter Landon Knack.
Learn more: Triple play ends game as Dodgers lose to healthy Padres
Padres right-hander Michael King allowed one unearned run and three hits in five innings to improve to 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA, and relievers Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Tanner Scott and Jason Adam combined to throw three scoreless innings.
Shorter Robert Suarez, who blew a save by allowing two runs in the ninth inning against the lowly Chicago White Sox last Friday, came in to pitch the ninth and allowed singles to Will Smith, Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández, the latter of whom hit a broken bat into center field to cut the lead to 4-2.
Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla came to the mound and the entire infield rallied around Suarez.
“We’ve supported each other all year and we told Robert on that mound visit, ‘Hey, we got you, man, go out there and keep doing your thing,’” Machado said. “We did it a couple days ago when he quit, we got your back. That’s what this team is all about.”
What happened next — a game-ending triple play — is so rare that it has happened only 28 times in major league history and only three times in the wild-card era, according to Major League Baseball researcher Sarah Langs. It was the 10th triple play in Padres history and the first to end a game.
“It was the perfect play,” Machado said. “We thought he was going to bunt, and he showed a bunt on the first pitch. I thought he was going to bunt (again) and he hit a ground ball right at me. Instantly, you know, hey, let’s try to turn this around and get out of this.”
Asked if a triple play had crossed his mind as he strategized for Rojas’ at-bat, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “No, not at all.”
Even after Machado got the grounder, “I thought he was going to go from third to first,” Roberts said.
“We couldn’t have done it any better,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “What a performance by Manny.”
After a wild celebration of beer and champagne in the visitors’ locker room at Dodger Stadium, and long after the home team had left, the Padres gathered outside the first-base dugout for a team photo, but one key member of the club was missing.
“Manny! Manny! Manny!” they chanted, and Machado came running up the dugout steps, shirtless, wearing tan pants and nothing else. Machado plopped down in the front row, leaned back in his teammates’ arms for a few photos, and the Padres returned to the locker room for some more festivities.
“We celebrate tonight, but we’ll come back tomorrow with the same energy,” right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. said after the Padres improved to a major league-best 41-17 since the All-Star break. “I want more of that. We’re going to get there. We’re just going to keep coming as a group. This group is special.”
“And we’re definitely doing it for Peter.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
