This is MASSIVE For the Dodgers... | LA Dodgers News

This is absolutely massive for the Dodgers. We get into exactly what happened tonight at Dodgers Stadium in the series opener against the San Diego Padres in this edition of Dodgers Digest. Hey, this is Mike Nelson. Make sure to subscribe to the channel. Myself and Brad J will bring you everyday Dodger content, so make sure to hit that subscribe button. So the Dodgers got a big series opening win, right? Winning the first game of this three-game set against the Padres tonight at Dodgers Stadium. 3-2 win and it was all about Clayton Kershaw, right? Clayton Kershaw was the MVP for the Dodgers tonight. Kind of hard to believe that we're saying this all these years later, but Clayton Kershaw stepped up today and had one of his best starts as a Dodger. Only giving up two hits in six innings. Striking out three, but only walking one batter and that one home run he gave up. One, you know, home run he gave up was basically the only run he gave up, right? I mean, that was it. That was the only extra base hit. You know, the only time the Padres really had a shot to do anything against Kershaw. So it was a big, you know, outing for sure. It was a shocking, you know, offensive output by San Diego. Once again, basically choked against the Dodgers, right? Because San Diego had a big opportunity tonight to take a two-game lead on the Dodgers and they absolutely blew it. Once again, San Diego blowing it in the biggest moments. Right when you thought they had the Dodgers or they wanted them, they find a way to lose the game, right? That's basically what happened today. The Dodgers didn't have their best offense by any means. I mean, offensively, the Dodgers, and this will get into the bullpen in a bit, but offensively, the Dodgers didn't have much, right? Otani going 0-3, Betts going 0-3, Will Smith going 0-4, Freddie Freeman going 0-2 with the walk. But yeah, I mean, think about it. Top four guys not getting a hit tonight and the Dodgers, of course, ends up being the winning run for the Dodgers. A huge moment, to say the least, for the Dodgers. But yeah, that hit, the bottom half of the lineup is the one that kind of pulled the Dodgers forward tonight. And of course, you know, Otani getting that RBI as well. And then, you know, Mookie Betts getting the sack fly. So yeah, there was obviously, you know, it wasn't like Otani and Betts didn't do anything, but they didn't have any hits. But, you know, they knocked in a couple big runs for sure for the Dodgers. But offensively, let's be honest, the Dodgers really did not give, you know, they didn't do much tonight. I mean, the Padres pitching was very good. You know, kind of shut the Dodgers down for most of the game. And the Dodgers pitching was just better. Now, of course, things don't go easy right now. Things just don't seem to be going so easy for the Dodgers right now, unfortunately. And, you know, as the innings went on and, you know, Kershaw stepped out after six innings. That's what Dave Roberts, again, would have liked to have seen Kershaw come out for that seventh. Why not? His pitch count was still workable, I think. I would have liked to have seen Kershaw go seventh. But Roberts decided to pull him out after sixth. And, you know, kind of all hell broke loose after that, right? I mean, Kasperius was good in the seventh. But then, as we know, Vecchia ran into trouble, to say the least. And, you know, loaded the bases. They were able to get through that inning. You know, of course, Vecchia does give up and gives up a run. But Blake Trinan, one pitch. That's all it took. One pitch for Blake Trinan against Manny Machado. And Machado popped up on one pitch. Absolutely the moment of the game right there. Right? Manny Machado, who has always been, you know, a player that's talked too much, has never known when to shut up. Once again, choked again against the Dodgers, right? I mean, basically, Machado choked against the Dodgers tonight. Absolutely. Come on. First and second. Two outs. Big opportunity for San Diego. And he pops up on the first pitch. That was it. Blake Trinan came in. That was all he pitched through tonight. I'm sure we'll see Blake Trinan again tomorrow night because that's all he threw. He only threw one pitch tonight, Blake Trinan. Came in with two outs in the eighth inning. Got that one pitch in. And Machado popped up. And that was it. We didn't see Trinan come out for the ninth. So, I think we'll see Blake tomorrow. I'm sure he's well rested. We saw a little bit of trash talking as well from Trinan after getting that one pitch out. You can see him yelling something toward Machado or toward the Padres dugout. Kind of see that on TV. So, I think the Padres blew it today. I think that's the big story. Kershaw is a big story. I think they blew it because of Kershaw's great pitching, right? I think Kershaw really had... We've criticized Kershaw in the past for not stepping up in clutch moments. And today was one of those moments. The Dodgers really needed Kershaw to step up and that's exactly what he did, right? They really needed Kershaw to have a great performance and that's what he did, right? And the Padres looked uncomfortable from the first inning on. They never settled down in this game, right? The Padres seemed like they were over swinging. There was just a lot of pressure on them for some reason. Even though, think about it. The Dodgers should have had more pressure with the Padres going into this game having a one-game lead and having a big opportunity to take a two-game lead on the Dodgers. That's all gone now. We're back to square one. Both teams are tied up and the Dodgers are getting closer and closer to clinching the season series against the Padres, right? I mean, the Dodgers have dominated the Padres this season. So, the Dodgers are getting closer. I believe they're one or two wins away from clinching that season series, right? I mean, it's basically going to be locked up very soon for the Dodgers this season set, right? I mean, 5-2, I believe, going into this game. Now, they're 6-2 and there's still, what is it, two games left in this series, four, three next week. So, five left. Another win by the Dodgers. It's kind of done, right? I mean, the Dodgers are basically going to clinch the season series very soon and we know how important that is in modern baseball because there's no more tiebreaker game, right? The tiebreaker games are a thing of the past and the first tiebreaker that they use when two teams are tied for a division or for a wild card spot or for, you know, yeah, those two things, of course, in baseball. It's the season series. It's the head-to-head. So, the Dodgers are probably going to have that head-to-head tiebreaker against San Diego at the end of the season. So, that's going to give the Dodgers even a more bigger cushion to win the National League West. So, how's everybody feeling right now? I mean, this week has been rough. This is the first win for the Dodgers since Saturday night. The last time the Dodgers won a baseball game was last Saturday against the Blue Jays and, of course, they were on a four-game losing streak going into this game, losing Sunday through Wednesday. Had a much-needed day off yesterday. They recharged and got a big win tonight, but how are you feeling? How are the Dodger fans out there around the world feeling right now? Because this week, I was reading the comments, a lot of people haven't had time to respond to everybody. I'm going to go through that very soon and respond to everybody's comments. How do you feel about the Dodgers right now? I mean, there were some people out there saying San Diego was going to sweep the Dodgers. That didn't happen. Some people are saying the Dodgers are done. I don't think they're done yet. Some people are saying the Dodgers are not going to win the division. Some people are saying the Dodgers are not going to go to the playoffs. Some people are saying that we should fire Dave Roberts. How are you feeling right now with the Dodgers winning? I mean, I think we got to pump the brakes a little bit. Sure, the Dodgers collapsed. They lost their big lead, no doubt about that, but I never said, you never heard me say the Dodgers are not going to win the division. So, I still think the Dodgers can get this. I think the season series over San Diego is going to give them even more confidence and they should be able to get the job done come the end of the season and tomorrow is a massive game. Blake Snell on the mound. Got to get the W and win the series again against San Diego, but as always, make sure to subscribe and let's go Dodgers.