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LOS ANGELES — The San Diego Padres navigated through most of this regular season as an enigma. The talent on their roster often did not match up with the quality of their play. Encouraging stretches typically followed poor ones. High expectations were usually tempered quickly. Along the way, though, they seemed to find strength in a singular thought: that they had yet to reach their ceiling and thus their best baseball was still in front of them.

It has apparently shown up at the most important juncture.

The Padres, the No. 5 seed in the National League, have begun these playoffs by winning three of five road games against two teams that combined for 212 wins during the regular season. They took two of three against the New York Mets at Citi Field over the weekend, stunning them in the wild-card round, and they have now split the first two games of their division series against a Los Angeles Dodgers team that dominated them over the previous six months. The Padres’ latest victory, by a 5-3 score at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night, saw them display stellar defense, string together timely hits and shut down baseball’s best offense in the late innings.

Now the Padres will return home to Petco Park for the first postseason home games in San Diego — with fans in attendance — since 2006.

Suddenly a path toward defeating the mighty Dodgers seems very clear.

“Ultimately, I think we all believe in each other,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado said. “We believed in each other all year. We’ve been doing it all year as well. It’s just clicking for us now as a group. It’s just a matter of wanting it. We want to get to the World Series; we want to bring a championship to San Diego. Ultimately the group is just getting together and just grinding this out.”

The Padres dropped Game 1 on Tuesday, but they fought. They fell behind by five runs early, cut their deficit to two in the middle and kept it close late. That, Wil Myers believes, “carried over” into Game 2.

It began in the very first inning, when Machado lined a hanging slider from Clayton Kershaw over the left-field fence for a home run. The Dodgers answered with solo homers by Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, and the Padres came back with three straight hits that produced two additional runs in the top of the third. The Dodgers tied it with another solo homer in the bottom half — this one by Trea Turner — and the Padres regained the lead on an RBI single from Jurickson Profar in the sixth. The Dodgers threatened thereafter, but Jake Cronenworth provided a major insurance run by homering off Blake Treinen in the eighth.

When Mookie Betts led off the fifth with a walk, Padres catcher Austin Nola gunned him down on an attempted steal with a perfect throw. When Turner followed with a 103 mph bullet to the left side, Machado corralled it with a slick play. And when the Dodgers put the first two runners on in the bottom of the sixth against a tiring Yu Darvish, Robert Suarez came out of the bullpen and shut them down, striking out Justin Turner and getting Gavin Lux to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

“We had ups and downs in the season,” Padres right fielder Juan Soto said, “but we all know that we have a great team and we can do a lot of damage.”

Leading up to Suarez’s arrival, Soto turned in one of the night’s most important plays. With one on and none out in the sixth, Muncy hit a deep drive to right that caromed off the fence. Soto briefly shot his glove into the air pretending he would settle in for a routine catch, creating just enough uncertainty for Muncy and the lead runner, Will Smith, to hold up, preventing a run from scoring and preserving what became a crucial double play.

“The deke got him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Muncy. “I think at that point in time he sold it well enough that Max slowed up and ended up at first base.”

The Dodgers turned in solid defense in their own right, particularly in the sixth, when Brusdar Graterol made a slick barehand play at home and Cody Bellinger spun twice to track down a deep fly ball to center. But Turner’s error earlier that inning helped produce a run, and the Padres ultimately made the Dodgers pay for it. It’s what good teams do.

“During the season we played a lot of close games like that,” Profar said, “and it seemed like we were always losing those games.”

But the Padres are operating like a different team now, and it’s showing against the opponent that has given them the most trouble. The Dodgers, the division rivals they’re perpetually chasing, won their last nine regular-season games against the Padres in 2021 and 14 of 19 in 2022, scoring more than twice as many runs against them this year. Their pairing in this round represented the largest margin in run-differential between two teams in postseason history.

But all that matters is who can win two of the next three, and the Padres might suddenly have the advantage. The next two games will take place at their place. Starting Games 3 and 4, respectively, will be Blake Snell, who has historically pitched well against the Dodgers, and Joe Musgrove, coming off a dominant outing against the Mets on Sunday. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have reached the uncertain portion of their rotation, with Tony Gonsolin, who hasn’t pitched more than two innings since Aug. 23, getting the ball in Game 3. His start will evolve into a bullpen game.

“During the season, they beat us,” Profar said of the 111-win Dodgers, who finished 22 games ahead of the Padres in the NL West. “They beat us. But we played pretty good games during the season. We lost them, and we know that if we play our good brand of baseball, we can beat ’em.”

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

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Ohtani takes Miz deep but phenom fans 12 in win

MILWAUKEE — Shohei Ohtani greeted Jacob Misiorowski with a leadoff homer, but the Milwaukee Brewers‘ rookie phenom got the last word.

After giving up Ohtani’s 431-foot blast, Misiorowski responded with another dominant outing. He struck out a career-high 12 batters — including two-way superstar Ohtani in the third inning — to lead the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski said. “You kind of expect [that]. It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at-bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.'”

Misiorowski, whose fastball routinely tops 100 mph, threw an 88.2 mph curveball on an 0-2 count to Ohtani, who crushed it for his 31st homer. That’s the most by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break.

It was the 21st career leadoff homer for the three-time MVP, who struck out swinging on a curveball in the third and walked to start the sixth. That was the only walk given up by Misiorowski, who scattered four hits.

“Really good stuff, aggressive in the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But what really stood out to me was his command and control.”

Misiorowski outdueled three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing. Asked Monday about his matchup with Misiorowski, Kershaw said he only knew that the 6-foot-7 right-hander threw hard.

“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said Tuesday. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. Everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.”

Misiorowski was glad to get Kershaw’s attention.

“I saw something online that he didn’t now who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”

In five starts since the Brewers called him up from the minors, Misiorowski has already beaten Kershaw and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. In another outing, Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning.

“He’s just broken the shell,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s just out of the egg, all arms and legs. He’s still got gooey stuff coming off, you can see it, all arms and legs, but there’s something special about him.”

The numbers would indicate as much. Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has given up only 12 hits in 25⅔ innings.

He topped out at 101.6 mph and threw 20 pitches of at least 100 on Tuesday. He also threw 19 curveballs after using curves only 10% of the time before Tuesday.

He was coming off his only shaky performance, giving up five runs — including a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo — and three walks over 3⅔ innings Wednesday in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.

It looked as if it might be more of the same after Ohtani went deep. Misiorowski responded by striking out 12 of the next 16 batters.

“I think that’s my job, is to figure it out on the fly,” he said. “I feel like I did it tonight.”

He got out of a jam in the sixth. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 and had runners on second and third with one out, but third baseman Andruw Monasterio fielded a grounder and threw out Ohtani at the plate, and Misiorowski retired Michael Conforto on a grounder.

Misiorowski pumped his fist as he headed toward the dugout, then watched the Brewers’ bullpen nail down the win.

“It’s so satisfying,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just a dream come true, to do what I did.”

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Giants walk off on Bailey’s inside-the-park homer

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Giants walk off on Bailey's inside-the-park homer

SAN FRANCISCO — Patrick Bailey hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

Bailey became just the third catcher in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and the Washington Nationals’ Bennie Tate in 1926.

Bailey’s homer would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.

Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice and scored to help the Giants to their sixth win in seven games.

Casey Schmitt began the rally with a leadoff double. After Jung Hoo Lee popped out, Wilmer Flores lined a single to center.

Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, then smashed a 1-0 fastball from Jordan Romano (1-4) into right-center field that ricocheted off the brick part of the wall.

Ryan Walker (2-3) retired one batter, with two on in the top of the ninth, to earn the win.

Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including his team-leading 28th home run.

Schwarber flew out, struck out and was hit by a pitch before homering off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens into McCovey Cove. Brandon Marsh, who singled as a pinch hitter leading off the inning, scored on the play.

Two days after being named an All-Star for the second time in his career, Robbie Ray gave up four hits and one run in 5⅔ innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Mets’ Mendoza: Snubbed Soto ‘an All-Star for us’

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Mets' Mendoza: Snubbed Soto 'an All-Star for us'

BALTIMORE — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.

Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.

“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days we hear something and he makes it.”

Soto drove in the winning run with a sharp single on the first pitch of the 10th inning. That capped a night in which he went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .269 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs.

Soto has walked 72 times, by far the most in the majors, but he can also lash out at a pitcher when necessary.

“He’s got a pretty good understanding of what the pitchers are trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “There is his awareness of the game, he’s going to see pitchers. There are times when he’s going to be aggressive. Tonight was one of those nights. First pitch in the 10th, he’s attacking.”

Soto made the All-Star team as a member of the Nationals, Padres and Yankees each year since 2021. The streak appears to be over. But his teammates believe he deserves to go.

“What he done all year is just incredible, and the results are good enough,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said. “The consistency he’s showed up with, at the at-bats he’s taken, is more than an All-Star. He’s one of the best in the game and a big part of our lineup.”

Soto seems rather philosophical about the snub.

“Sometimes, you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Yankees. “It’s just part of baseball.”

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