Padres tie record as they obliterate Dodgers

LOS ANGELES: The San Diego Padres got revenge on the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, as they tied the record for most home runs in a playoff game. They final score was 10-2 in favour of the Padres, tying the National League Division Series (NLDS) at one game apiece.

Fernando Tatis made his presence felt in the very first inning. Jack Flaherty started off with a slider which Tatis fouled off. Flaherty would try his fast ball next to mess with Tatis’ timing, but the Padres superstar had no problem pummelling the ball for a home run, giving the Padres an early lead.

Fans thought the Dodgers struck right back, as Mookie Betts smashed a ball to left field. Jurickson Profar chased the ball to the wall, leaping for an attempted catch. He left the entire stadium in suspense as he fans waited to see if he had caught it. Betts was rounding the bases thinking he had leveled the game, but Profar revealed the ball in his glove with a grin on his face.  

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David Peralta would be the next to homer for the Padres. He takes a ball for the first pitch he sees, as Flaherty showed his knuckle curve. The next ball was a slider than Peralta lifted foul. Flaherty would try a fast ball upstairs, but it was well outside the zone, making the count 2-1. He would try another slider for his fourth pitch of the battle, and Peralta was ready for it. He sent a bomb right center field with a runner on base, to make the score three to nothing for the Padres.   

Gavin Lux would help the Dodgers attempt to crawl back into the game, after he hit a sacrifice fly to left center field, allowing Teoscar Hernandez to score.

Tatis would score again in the top of the sixth, as Jackson Merrill shot a base hit to left field, bringing the Padres star home.

PADRES GENEROSITY

The game was then delayed as tensions rose between the Padres outfielders and Dodgers’ fans in the seventh inning. Two baseballs were thrown into the crowd in Profar’s direction, who had robbed the fans of a home run earlier in the game. Trash and other objects followed, with fans then targeting Tatis, forcing the umpires to pause the game.  

The Padres recognised that the Dodgers’ fans were lacking a few baseballs after they threw a couple on to the field, so they graciously gave them a few more. First, it was the rookie Merrill who hit his second homer of the game with a runner on base, making the score six to one for the Padres. Then it was Xander Bogaerts who homered. With two already out, and two strikes in the count, Bogaerts lifted the ball high to left field to further increase the lead.

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Kyle Higashioka would be the next to homer in the top of the ninth as he hammered a ball left center field. Although he homered earlier in the game, Tatis was beginning to feel left out, so he hit another bomb, this time a 2-run home run to right centre field. The score was now 10 to 1 for the Padres as they tied the single-game Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason record for home runs, with six, two courtesy of Tatis.

The Dodgers would score one more run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was much too late to come back from the devastating Padres assault. The game ended 10-2 for the Padres, with the National League Division Series all tied up at one game apiece.  

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