It’s been a rollercoaster of a week for the division rivals as the San Diego Padres played the final game of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Drama is nothing new for the Friars and Dodgers. However, this series in particular came with its fair share of unique instances that have considerably increased the heat each time. Game four is where things just so happened to reach their proverbial peak.
Tatis Hit by Pitch Again
In the top of the ninth, Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a 93 mph pitch up and in on his right hand. He fell to the ground immediately and left the game. The pitch was delivered by right-hander Jack Little in his major league debut.
While coming to the aid of Tatis Jr., Padres manager Mike Shildt had some words for the Dodgers dugout. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts rushed onto the field, and the benches cleared. As the skippers got closer, Roberts appeared to place his forearm out in front of himself and shoved Shildt, stepping around home plate umpire Marvin Hudson to do so. Things spiraled after they collided, and both managers had to be held back by members of staff and their respective teams.
This went on for a few minutes before the managers got sent back to their respective dugouts. Both Roberts and Shildt were ejected, and both teams received a warning before the game continued.
Ohtani Hit by Pitch Again
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Sean Reynolds took the mound for the Padres, but after letting Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy walk, Robert Suarez replaced him.
Suarez, after two outs and two runs scored, now against Shohei Ohtani, drilled him on a 3-0 count with a 100 mph fastball that struck him in the back. Before things could escalate to where they were before Ohtani waved off both teams’ dugouts.
Suarez was immediately ejected, and Yuki Matsui came in to replace him. Matsui struck out catcher Dalton Rushing and ended the ballgame.
The Aftermath
In the aftermath of game four, after the dust had settled, both Shildt and Roberts delivered their thoughts on what transpired.
Shildt maintained he has a lot of respect for the Dodgers franchise, but cited their pitching as “aggressive.” On whether the pitch was intentional or not, Shildt wished to give the Dodgers the benefit of the doubt, but pointed out the lopsided number of inward pitches from the Dodgers’ pitching staff at Tatis in particular. As for why he stormed the field, Shildt said, “After a while, enough’s enough.”
Dave Roberts, in his post-game interview, maintained that no hit by pitch from his team this series was intentional. Conversely, he believes the pitches at Ohtani were intentional.
It’s worth noting that the game four incident was far from isolated. Two days prior, Tatis was plunked by reliever Lou Trivino, and not long after, Ohtani was hit in the right leg with a fastball from starter Randy Vásquez. In total, there were eight hit by pitches in this series alone. Tatis Jr. and Ohtani make up four of them collectively.
Tatis Jr.’s initial X-rays were negative, but he will undergo more testing and could potentially miss playing time. Ohtani deflected the 100 mph fastball and is perfectly fine, according to Roberts.
That’s Not all That Happened
As if this game couldn’t get any crazier, several other extraordinary things happened on the same day.
In the top of the third inning, Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within a single pitch of an immaculate inning. His ninth pitch was straight down the middle and called a ball by Hudson.
Suarez lost his position as the best reliever in baseball.
Xander Bogaerts blasted out of his slump, going 4-for-4, and earned his fourth home run of the year.
Finally, Matsui recorded his first-ever career save.
The Padres return home to play the Kansas City Royals for a weekend series. The Washington Nationals play the Dodgers at home. Despite the Padres’ win over the Dodgers to close the series, it appeared to come at immense cost.
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