Mookie Betts Seals Dodgers' Win Over Padres With Game-Ending Diving Catch

For the second consecutive night, the Dodgers beat the Padres in dramatic fashion, this time thanks to their fill-in center fielder.

For a moment, it seemed as though Tommy Pham had tied the game. Instead, Mookie Betts had other ideas.

With two outs, two on and the Dodgers holding a two-run lead, Betts sold out to make a diving catch in right-center field and seal a 2-0 win, giving the defending World Series champs their second straight drama-filled win over their division rivals.

MOOKIE MAGIC.#MakeItMajor pic.twitter.com/S7mpdnppRY

— MLB (@MLB) April 18, 2021

The exit velocity on Pham's line drive was 98.6 miles per hour, per Statcast, the fourth-hardest hit ball by the Padres of the game. Its expected batting average was .560, the eighth-highest of any ball hit by either team all night.

The win comes one night after Los Angeles won an 11-6 thriller in 12 innings on Friday night, making the first two entries in what's become the game's premier rivalry instant classics.

Where Friday's game was a 17-run slugfest, Saturday's was an old-school pitchers' duel. Clayton Kershaw allowed two hits and no runs with eight strikeouts over six innings, running his career ERA against the Padres to 1.99. He was nearly matched pitch-for-pitch by San Diego's Yu Darvish, who gave up just one run on one hit and two walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings. The lone run Darvish allowed came when he walked Kershaw with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning.

The Dodgers added an insurance run in the ninth inning on a solo home run by Justin Turner. After Blake Treinen allowed a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, he was replaced by Victor Gonzalez, who walked a batter then induced a ground out that advanced the runners to second and third. He then got Pham to line out to center field, giving the Dodgers their eighth straight victory.

The Dodgers and Padres wrap their weekend series on Sunday, with another marquee pitching matchup between Trevor Bauer and Blake Snell. They'll face off 16 more times after that, and if the last two nights are any indication, every one will be appointment television viewing.