3 Padres to blame for blowing NLDS advantage to Dodgers and flaming out of playoffs.
The San Diego Padres had a 2-1 lead in the NLDS over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And now they’re going home disappointed.
On Friday, the Padres fell in Game 5, 2-0, as their offense failed to take advantage of a strong pitching performance. The had to watch the Dodgers celebrate their win while wondering what could have been.
Who bears the most fault in all this? There’s blame to go around.
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3. Dylan Cease
The Dodgers managed to successfully throw a bullpen game while trailing 2-1 in the series because Dylan Cease had such a poor start to Game 4. And they only got to play that game because Cease had such a poor start in Game 1.
Cease allowed five runs in the opening game of the series, which the Padres lost 7-5. He then came out with the chance to clinch the series in Game 4 and promptly gave up a home run to Mookie Bets in the first inning. He had to be replaced with two outs in the second inning with two more runs allowed on his record.
This isn’t to rehash the happenings of Game 1 or 4, but it matters that the Padres failed to close the series out in large part because of one pitcher. If they had won Game 1, they’d be moving on. If they had won Game 4, they’d be moving on.
Game 1 was a particularly frustrating loss because the Padres offense dried up in Game 4 and 5. As we saw from Yu Darvish’s pitching performance in Game 5, a good outing from the starter doesn’t necessarily lead to a win if your offense can’t score. But they did in Game 1. The bats were making contact and Cease wasted it.
2. Mike Shildt
Why was Cease starting Game 4 on short rest after a miserable Game 1 performance? Because manager Mike Shildt made that decision.
Yu Darvish gave the Padres a strong showing in Game 5 but he gave up a seventh-inning home run to Teoscar Hernandez that felt like a death knell. Why was he pitching in the seventh inning? Because Shildt sent him back out there instead of using his high leverage arms in a do-or-die game.
Dave Roberts forced Padres hitters to face a different arm every time they went out there. Shildt’s inaction might have doomed San Diego by comparison.
It’s entirely possible it wouldn’t have helped. Better use of the bullpen wouldn’t have put runs on the board. But maybe, just maybe, being down by just one swing of the bat might have given the Padres enough hope in the final innings to make something happen.
1. Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado and the Padres offense
It bears repeating, Yu Darvish was excellent in Game 5. Sure, he gave up two home runs and that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game, but you should be able to win a playoff game when the starter delivers 6.2 innings with just two earned runs on three hits.
The Padres ultimately lost this series for one reason: A 24-inning stretch without a run.
In Game 4, San Diego left nine runners stranded. They were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Kyle Higashioka had three bites at the apple. Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. each had a shot. So did Jurickson Profar, Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth.
San Diego didn’t even have runners to strand in Game 5. They managed just two hits in an elimination game. Tatis was 0-for-4. Machado was 0-for-3. Xander Bogaerts, David Peralta and the rest of the lineup couldn’t come up with a hit between them either.
Tatis and Machado are the offensive powerhouses of this team. It’s fair to expect more from the rest as well, but those are the guys that should be leading the way. They talked a big talk and they came up empty. They have no one to blame but themselves.
