PADRES TAKE DOWN DODGERS WITH FIVE-RUN INNING IN GAME 4

FoxSports.com ^ | Oct. 16, 2022 | Pedro Moura

[canuck_conservative]

And as it ended, the skies opened, and rain poured down on this town that sees an average of 10 inches each year...

The seventh inning of this National League Division Series’ fourth game featured two strange rallies, a drone delay and biblical levels of upheaval to this year’s playoff picture...

San Diego’s 5-3 win Saturday at Petco Park meant the 111-win Dodgers won only one postseason game.

The wild thing was the Dodgers actually started their own rally to begin the seventh. Up 2-0 as it began, they managed to add a run without a big hit. They produced a walk, a bunt hit, a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly. That netted one run and put runners on second and third with only one out. From there, though, Max Muncy and Justin Turner could get no more runs home.

Needing to put the ball into play to vault his team ahead, Manny Machado instead struck out. Brandon Drury then popped out, and Jake Cronenworth approached.

The man who’d face him, Alex Vesia, had not had much time to warm up. He stood up in the Dodgers' bullpen only when Drury began to bat, and Drury popped up the first pitch he saw. Roberts had Almonte throw one pitch to Cronenworth, then signaled to catcher Will Smith to go speak to Almonte to supply a few additional seconds. Only after that did Roberts emerge, slowly, to pull Almonte in favor of Vesia.

Vesia’s first two pitches went for strikes, but not his next two, and Soto stole second without a throw. Cronenworth promptly punched the next into center field for a clean single that scored two.

Cronenworth, his teammates and the crowd went berserk. Not long after, the Padres were headed to the NLCS after a dramatic night of baseball....

[dfwgator]

Any day the Dodgers lose is a good day.

Any day the Yankees lose is an even better day.