SAN DIEGO — The Petco Park scoreboard made a desperate plea in the sixth inning on Saturday night, flashing “Let’s Go Padres” up on the big screen in hopes of sparking a home crowd chant.
All the graphic did, however, was rile up a heavy contingent of visiting Dodgers fans.
Given the way the game was going, they were the only ones with something to cheer.
After being tied with the Padres through five innings, the Dodgers unloaded on their division rival with a nine-run sixth-inning rally that keyed their eventual, and historic, 15-3 demolition.
There was small ball and long balls. Big swings and hustle plays on the bases. Bad defense from the Padres. And, most of all, a clear gulf of talent between the Dodgers’ collection of star talent and that of their biggest National League West competition.
“We were taking good at-bats throughout the game, and then just exploded in that inning,” utilityman Tommy Edman said. “It’s just a good indication of how good our offense is.”
Indeed, while the Padres struggled with Yoshinobu Yamamoto all night during his six-inning, two-run start, the Dodgers didn’t relent once the door opened against San Diego right-hander Randy Vásquez in the sixth.
Twelve batters came to the plate. Eight of them reached safely. Three sent a ball soaring over the fence.
By the time the side was retired, the Dodgers had recorded their second-highest scoring inning of the season, and were on their way to matching their most runs ever in a game at Petco Park.
A San Diego shellacking. An I-5 annihilation.
“That,” manager Dave Roberts said, “was fun to see.”
The inning began with a double from Freddie Freeman, then kicked into gear when Padres second baseman Will Wagner booted a ground ball from Max Muncy for a run-scoring error. Edman followed that by smacking an RBI triple off the Petco Porch down the right-field line.
Then, the previously slumping Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing delivered a one-two knockout punch, belting back-to-back home runs out to right field.
“Namely Kyle, that at-bat that he had was pivotal,” Roberts said, praising Tucker’s ability to stay alive in a nine-pitch battle before finally pulling an inside cutter. “Seeing a lot of pitches and ending that at-bat with the cutter, homer, that was big.”
If all that wasn’t enough, Mookie Betts put an exclamation point on the sixth by launching a three-run blast for yet another home run, before the Dodgers poured on four more runs in the eighth and another in the ninth.
With every run, Dodgers fans only grew louder.
And never again did the scoreboard attempt another “Let’s Go Padres” chant.
What it means
Run support for Yamamoto used to be a rare occurrence. But lately, the Dodgers have finally started backing up strong starts from their ace.
In five of his last six outings, Yamamoto has seen his offense score at least five times. Saturday, specifically, was the most runs the Dodgers have scored with him on the mound in his career.
It helped raise his record to 8-5 this season (two victories off the MLB lead) as he finished with a 2.67 ERA (seventh-best in the National League).
Who’s hot
There were plenty of candidates coming out of Saturday’s rout. But few are standing out as much as Edman has lately.
After missing the first three months of the year recovering from offseason ankle surgery, the utilityman has immediately rediscovered his swing in his first couple weeks back.
In addition to his sixth-inning triple Saturday, he also had the opening RBI on a double that got over Merrill’s head in center, then drove in a third run on a grounder in the eighth. Through nine games since returning from the injured list, the switch-hitter is now batting .379 with a .972 OPS, and more importantly finding balanced production from both sides of the plate.
“I feel like this is one of the rare times where both swings feel good,” said Edman, who doubled from the right side of the plate and tripled from the left. “It’s really tough to maintain both swings over the course of the season, so just happy that I feel that way right now.”
Who’s not
For one day (in a literal sense): Rushing, who alleviated some of his recent red-hot frustrations with his home run in the sixth.
The blast was only Rushing’s second long ball since April 20, after he had hit seven up to that point during his scorching-hot start to the season. It also snapped a recent 0-for-13 slump, giving him his first hit since his game-winning single against the Orioles during the team’s last homestand.
Rushing’s home run came with a notable reception, as well, as he and Shohei Ohtani (who shared mutual frustrations with one another during Ohtani’s start in Minnesota last week) met near the on-deck circle with a smiling slap of hands.
Up next
The Dodgers will look to win the rubber match of this series — and strengthen their grip on the National League West Division — on Sunday afternoon, when Emmet Sheehan (3-5, 5.32 ERA) will face right-handed Padres ace Michael King (5-6, 3.33 ERA).
