Dodgers’ Bullpen Shuts Down Lifeless Padres to Force Winner-Take-All Game 5

Here are four takeaways from the Dodgers’ Game 4 win over the Padres that sends the NLDS back to Los Angeles.

Alex Vesia and the rest of the Dodgers bullpen held the Padres scoreless in Game 4. / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers are alive.

The Dodgers responded to Tuesday’s close Game 3 loss at Petco Park, disappointing an enormous crowd that came out Wednesday to watch the San Diego Padres try to eliminate their division rivals. Los Angeles won 8–0 in a game that never felt close, never looking back after jumping out to a 5–0 lead in the third inning Wednesday.

With the NLDS now tied 2–2 and headed back to L.A. for a decisive Game 5 on Friday, here are several takeaways from Game 4 that might shape what happens next.

Who needs a starting pitcher?

Due to a litany of injuries, the Dodgers' starting rotation is a mess. Dave Roberts opted to go with a bullpen game and it worked like a charm. L.A.’s relievers gave the Padres fits all night. The different angles and velocities kept them off balance and an offense that had averaged seven runs in the first three games of the series was kept shockingly quiet.

Dodgers relievers combined to throw nine shutout innings and only allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out eight.

While Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the presumed starter for Game 5, Roberts might want to give serious consideration to going with another bullpen day instead after the Padres scored five runs off Yamamoto in his three innings of work in Game 1.

Padres offense goes lifeless

Despite a Petco Park record 47,773 Padres fans ready and willing to explode, their team didn't give them much to cheer about. The Padres fell behind early and wound up buried. Rather than fight back as it had so many times this season, San Diego's offense went quiet. In fact, it’s been held scoreless for 15 consecutive innings dating back to a six-run second inning in Game 3.

“We just need to get a better approach at the plate,” right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. told reporters after the game. “They executed their pitches today. [We] just need better at-bats as a group.”

The top six hitters in San Diego's lineup only mustered one extra-base hit on Wednesday, a ground-rule double by Tatis in the third inning. That section of the lineup went 4-for-23 (.174 batting average) with three singles, a double and a walk, with Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill both going 0-for-4 after providing crucial hits earlier in the series.

It was a brutal showing from an offense that had scored at least four runs in each of San Diego’s first six postseason games. And it kept that record crowd seated for most of the night.

Mookie Betts got the scoring started with a solo shot in the first inning. / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Mookie's slump is over

Mookie Betts hammered a first-inning home run for the second consecutive game—and almost a third if not for Jurickson Profar's spectacular catch in Game 2. Betts was 0-for-6 in the first two games of the series, continuing a brutal playoff slump that stretched back to a hitless postseason in 2023.

Over the past two games, Betts has turned it around, going 4-for-9 with two home runs and three RBIs. If he's hitting, the Dodgers' lineup becomes exponentially more difficult for the Padres to deal with.

After Dylan Cease induced a weak groundout from Shohei Ohtani to open the game, Betts hammered a 98 mph fastball over the center field wall. The solo shot energized the Dodgers and silenced the crowd. San Diego—the town and the team—never really got back into it.

Dodgers’ depth shines through

Star first baseman Freddie Freeman was scratched shortly before first pitch with a nagging ankle injury and shortstop Miguel Rojas also missed Game 4 with an abductor injury that forced him out of Game 3 early. No matter, as the Dodgers moved Tommy Edman to short and Max Muncy to first base while inserting Chris Taylor (center field) and Kiké Hernández (third base) off the bench. They repeatedly flipped Taylor and Hernández, showing off their versatility, and Taylor wound up in left field to finish the game after Andy Pages came into center field as a defensive replacement.

While they’d miss Freeman's bat for Game 5 if he’s still unavailable, the Dodgers didn't need him or Rojas on Wednesday. The fielding configuration worked just fine, with Hernandez and Taylor filling in admirably. Hernández also added two singles and scored once in four at-bats (though Taylor was less helpful on offense, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts).

The Dodgers spent more than $1.2 billion this offseason to load up their roster with superstars, but with their season on the line, several longtime complementary pieces helped hold down the fort in their biggest win of the year.

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