Yu Darvish allowed just one hit over six innings and combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as the San Diego Padres edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Friday night at Petco Park. The result pulled the Padres even with their rivals atop the National League West, setting the stage for a dramatic stretch run in the division.
The two clubs, separated by nine games as recently as early July, are now deadlocked at 73-56 with 33 remaining contests. San Diego rebounded sharply after being swept in three games last weekend at Dodger Stadium, while Los Angeles continued to scuffle, losing for the third time in five outings.
Darvish (3-3) leaned on precision rather than power, striking out five and walking two across six innings. At 39 years old, the right-hander faced minimal resistance, retiring the first eight batters he saw before rookie Alex Freeland homered to right in the third inning. It was the first major league home run for Freeland, who debuted July 30 and has been pressed into an everyday role amid multiple Dodgers injuries.
The Padres answered in the fourth when Fernando Tatís Jr. drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on Manny Machado’s RBI single. Machado later crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Xander Bogaerts, giving San Diego a 2-1 lead that held the rest of the way. Machado finished with two hits and a run scored in a game where the Padres managed only six hits off Los Angeles starter Blake Snell.
Snell (3-2) was sharp in defeat, allowing two runs on six hits across seven innings with seven strikeouts. It marked his second straight quality start since returning from a shoulder issue, but run support proved elusive.
After Darvish departed, San Diego turned to its bullpen, which faced tense moments but preserved the narrow advantage. Jason Adam worked a clean seventh inning before Mason Miller issued two walks in the eighth. The Padres escaped the jam with a 3-6-1 double play, defusing the Dodgers’ best chance at a rally.
Closer Robert Suárez entered for the ninth and immediately gave up a deep fly ball to Shohei Ohtani that carried 388 feet before being caught shy of the wall. Singles by Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman put the tying and go-ahead runs on base with two outs, but Suárez struck out Teoscar Hernández to notch his MLB-leading 34th save.
The Dodgers, who stormed to a division lead earlier this summer, have cooled considerably. They are just 15-17 since the All-Star break, while the Padres have surged to a 21-12 over that same stretch. The weekend series marks the final head-to-head regular season meeting between the longtime rivals, leaving the remaining schedule to determine the outcome of the National League West race.
Oddsmakers had listed the Padres as slight -115 favorites with the Dodgers at -105. The over/under closed at 8 runs, but the pitchers’ duel kept the total comfortably under.
The series continues Saturday night with another intriguing matchup. Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.12 ERA) looks to end an 11-start winless streak, while newly acquired Padres left-hander Nestor Cortes (1-2, 5.87 ERA) seeks his second victory since joining the team at the trade deadline.